India captain Virat Kohli is doubtful for the fourth and final test against Australia after suffering a shoulder injury in the penultimate match in Ranchi.

The 28-year-old Kohli damaged his right shoulder when diving to save a boundary on the first day of the penultimate test in Ranchi and was off the field during most of Australia&#39;s first innings in the drawn game.

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I&#39;ll only play if I&#39;m 100% fit: Virat Kohli ahead of 4th test against Australia. <a href="https://t.co/z5IaiknZ1d">pic.twitter.com/z5IaiknZ1d</a>
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&quot;(We will) take a call later tonight or tomorrow,&quot; Kohli told reporters on Friday.

The series is tied at 1-1 with the winner-takes-all fourth test starting on Saturday.

(Reuters)

Kohli damaged his right shoulder when diving to save a boundary on the first day of the penultimate test in Ranchi

India captain Virat Kohli is doubtful for the fourth and final test against Australia after suffering a shoulder injury in the penultimate match in Ranchi. The 28-year-old Kohli damaged his right shoulder when diving to save a boundary on the first day of the penultimate test in Ranchi and was off the field during most of Australia's first innings in the drawn game. I'll only play if I'm 100% fit: Virat Kohli ahead of 4th test against Australia. pic.twitter.com/z5IaiknZ1d — ANI (@ANI_news) March 24, 2017 × "(We will) take a call later tonight or tomorrow," Kohli told reporters on Friday. The series is tied at 1-1 with the winner-takes-all fourth test starting on Saturday. (Reuters)

Virat Kohli doubtful for fourth Australia test

India&#39;s cricket captain Virat Kohli may not know how to spell the word &quot;sorry&quot;, Cricket Australia chairman James Sutherland said on Wednesday.

When asked by an Australian radio jockey if Kohli should apologise to rival captain Steve Smith over the cheating allegations, Sutherland quipped: &quot;Look I am not sure he knows how to spell the word.&quot;

This is the latest attack on Kohli from Down Under as the the Australian media has come down hard on the Indian cricket captain following his insinuation about Smith having cheated during the second Test in Bangalore.

Kohli had stopped short of calling Smith a cheat after the Australian captain sought dressing room&#39;s advice for a DRS call, triggering off a major controversy.

On March 7, Kohli during a post-match conference had created fissures between the Indian and Australian cricket team when he took a dig at Smith, saying: &quot;&quot;We have been inconsistent with the DRS but we take our decisions on the field, we don&#39;t ask for confirmation from the dressing room.&quot;&nbsp;

He had made the comments minutes after India had recorded a 75-run win over Australia to draw level in the four-Test series. 
 
Sutherland, who had called Kohli&#39;s &quot;cheating&quot; claims as outrageous before striking truce with the BCCI, hopes the hostilities between the two teams end post the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala.

&quot;After the end of this long and cut-throat series, lets hope the boys from both teams get together and have a bit of a laugh. I know they are going to spend a lot of time together in the IPL, so I am sure if it doesn&#39;t happen after Dharamsala Test, it will happen during the IPL,&quot; Sutherland said.

(WION with inputs from PTI) 
&nbsp;

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Cricket Australia chairman James Sutherland said this to an RJ when asked about the DRS cheating controversy involving Steve Smith

India's cricket captain Virat Kohli may not know how to spell the word "sorry", Cricket Australia chairman James Sutherland said on Wednesday. When asked by an Australian radio jockey if Kohli should apologise to rival captain Steve Smith over the cheating allegations, Sutherland quipped: "Look I am not sure he knows how to spell the word." This is the latest attack on Kohli from Down Under as the the Australian media has come down hard on the Indian cricket captain following his insinuation about Smith having cheated during the second Test in Bangalore. Kohli had stopped short of calling Smith a cheat after the Australian captain sought dressing room's advice for a DRS call, triggering off a major controversy. On March 7, Kohli during a post-match conference had created fissures between the Indian and Australian cricket team when he took a dig at Smith, saying: ""We have been inconsistent with the DRS but we take our decisions on the field, we don't ask for confirmation from the dressing room." He had made the comments minutes after India had recorded a 75-run win over Australia to draw level in the four-Test series. Sutherland, who had called Kohli's "cheating" claims as outrageous before striking truce with the BCCI, hopes the hostilities between the two teams end post the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala. "After the end of this long and cut-throat series, lets hope the boys from both teams get together and have a bit of a laugh. I know they are going to spend a lot of time together in the IPL, so I am sure if it doesn't happen after Dharamsala Test, it will happen during the IPL," Sutherland said. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Not sure Virat Kohli can spell 'sorry': Cricket Australia chief

India&#39;s cricket team have been given a significant pay rise, with the world&#39;s richest cricket board (BCCI) announcing on Wednesday that it had doubled salaries for the 2016-17 season and hiked match fees across all three of the game&#39;s formats.

Players in the uppermost &#39;A&#39; category have been put on a retainer of 20 million Indian rupees ($305,000) for the period ending September 20, 2017, up from 10 million rupees last season.

That is still well short of the 700,000 pounds ($870,800) retainers that England&#39;s top cricketers, such as Alastair Cook or Joe Root are on, according to media reports, or the A$1.12 million dollars ($858,816) for Australia captain Steve Smith.

Top Indian cricketers also receive a match fee for each international appearance, and many benefit from playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

The BCCI said it had seven players on Grade A contracts, up from four last season, with Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay joining captain Virat Kohli, former skipper MS Dhoni, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Ajinkya Rahane.

Indian players on Grade B contracts, such as batsman Rohit Sharma and pace bowlers Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav will earn 10 million rupees each and Grade C players will earn 5 million rupees apiece.

Notable exceptions from the list of players awarded contracts include off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and left-handed batsman Suresh Raina.

Players also top up their income in the IPL Twenty20 competition, with the country&#39;s media reporting that skipper Kohli, who captains Royal Challengers Bangalore, earned 15 million rupees from the league last year.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes was bought for a staggering $2.17 million by Rising Pune Supergiants ahead of this season&#39;s IPL.&nbsp;

The BCCI also increased match fees for the national team, with players now earning 1.5 million rupees per test match, or three times as much as they did last season.

Match fees for both one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals have been doubled, to 600,000 rupees and 300,000 rupees, respectively.

The changes have been backdated to October 1, 2016, the BCCI said.

(Reuters)

Players in the uppermost 'A' category have been put on a retainer of 20 million Indian rupees ($305,000) for the period ending September 20, 2017

India's cricket team have been given a significant pay rise, with the world's richest cricket board (BCCI) announcing on Wednesday that it had doubled salaries for the 2016-17 season and hiked match fees across all three of the game's formats. Players in the uppermost 'A' category have been put on a retainer of 20 million Indian rupees ($305,000) for the period ending September 20, 2017, up from 10 million rupees last season. That is still well short of the 700,000 pounds ($870,800) retainers that England's top cricketers, such as Alastair Cook or Joe Root are on, according to media reports, or the A$1.12 million dollars ($858,816) for Australia captain Steve Smith. Top Indian cricketers also receive a match fee for each international appearance, and many benefit from playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI said it had seven players on Grade A contracts, up from four last season, with Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay joining captain Virat Kohli, former skipper MS Dhoni, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Ajinkya Rahane. Indian players on Grade B contracts, such as batsman Rohit Sharma and pace bowlers Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav will earn 10 million rupees each and Grade C players will earn 5 million rupees apiece. Notable exceptions from the list of players awarded contracts include off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and left-handed batsman Suresh Raina. Players also top up their income in the IPL Twenty20 competition, with the country's media reporting that skipper Kohli, who captains Royal Challengers Bangalore, earned 15 million rupees from the league last year. England all-rounder Ben Stokes was bought for a staggering $2.17 million by Rising Pune Supergiants ahead of this season's IPL. The BCCI also increased match fees for the national team, with players now earning 1.5 million rupees per test match, or three times as much as they did last season. Match fees for both one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals have been doubled, to 600,000 rupees and 300,000 rupees, respectively. The changes have been backdated to October 1, 2016, the BCCI said. (Reuters)

BCCI doubles player salaries, hikes match fees for 2016-17 season

Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins claimed four wickets to dent India&#39;s response despite Cheteshwar Pujara&#39;s&nbsp;dogged century on day three of the third Test in Ranchi on Saturday.

India were 306 for six at stumps, still trailing the visitors by 91 runs in their first innings. Pujara (130) and Wriddhiman Saha (18) were batting at close of play.

Cummins, making a return after playing his only Test for Australia in 2011, got crucial breaks including the prized scalp of India skipper Virat Kohli.

The 23-year-old Cummins was ably supported by fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood and spinner Steve O&#39;Keefe who took a wicket each on pitch that still looked good for batting.

Pujara, who was involved in a 102-run second-wicket stand with overnight partner Murali Vijay (82),&nbsp;was holding the innings together with his 11th Test century.

Pujara hit 17 boundaries, in an otherwise sedate knock, to keep India&#39;s hopes alive of surpassing Australia&#39;s first innings total of 451.

Puajara built crucial partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane (14) and Karun Nair (23) but the Australian pacemen rattled India&#39;s middle order with some inspired bowling.

Cummins, who struck twice in the afternoon session, got Rahane caught behind and Hazlewood bowled Nair with a beautiful reverse swinging delivery in the final session.

Australia skipper Steve Smith kept up the pressure by rotating his bowling options as runs trickled in for the hosts in the final two hours of play.

India, whose innings run-rate is less than three an over, managed to score only 57 runs in the 31 overs bowled in the final session and lost two wickets.

Earlier Kohli, who turned out to bat at his regular number four spot laying to rest any injury concerns, lasted only 23 balls before edging a catch to his opposite number Steve Smith at second slip.

The star batsman had injured his right shoulder after an awkward fall while fielding during Australia&#39;s innings on Thursday and stayed off the field for 400 minutes before taking crease.

Kohli, who came into the rubber with double centuries in four successive series, has only managed 46 runs in his five innnings since the opener in Pune.

In the morning session, Vijay hit a gutsy 82 before undoing his hardwork by being stumped off O&#39;Keefe at the stroke of lunch.

The series between the world&#39;s top two sides is tantalisingly poised at 1-1 with India needing at least a draw to have any chance of winning back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

(AFP)

Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins took four wickets to break India's back but Pujara's patient ton kept India in the hunt

Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins claimed four wickets to dent India's response despite Cheteshwar Pujara's dogged century on day three of the third Test in Ranchi on Saturday. India were 306 for six at stumps, still trailing the visitors by 91 runs in their first innings. Pujara (130) and Wriddhiman Saha (18) were batting at close of play. Cummins, making a return after playing his only Test for Australia in 2011, got crucial breaks including the prized scalp of India skipper Virat Kohli. The 23-year-old Cummins was ably supported by fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood and spinner Steve O'Keefe who took a wicket each on pitch that still looked good for batting. Pujara, who was involved in a 102-run second-wicket stand with overnight partner Murali Vijay (82), was holding the innings together with his 11th Test century. Pujara hit 17 boundaries, in an otherwise sedate knock, to keep India's hopes alive of surpassing Australia's first innings total of 451. Puajara built crucial partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane (14) and Karun Nair (23) but the Australian pacemen rattled India's middle order with some inspired bowling. Cummins, who struck twice in the afternoon session, got Rahane caught behind and Hazlewood bowled Nair with a beautiful reverse swinging delivery in the final session. Australia skipper Steve Smith kept up the pressure by rotating his bowling options as runs trickled in for the hosts in the final two hours of play. India, whose innings run-rate is less than three an over, managed to score only 57 runs in the 31 overs bowled in the final session and lost two wickets. Earlier Kohli, who turned out to bat at his regular number four spot laying to rest any injury concerns, lasted only 23 balls before edging a catch to his opposite number Steve Smith at second slip. The star batsman had injured his right shoulder after an awkward fall while fielding during Australia's innings on Thursday and stayed off the field for 400 minutes before taking crease. Kohli, who came into the rubber with double centuries in four successive series, has only managed 46 runs in his five innnings since the opener in Pune. In the morning session, Vijay hit a gutsy 82 before undoing his hardwork by being stumped off O'Keefe at the stroke of lunch. The series between the world's top two sides is tantalisingly poised at 1-1 with India needing at least a draw to have any chance of winning back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (AFP)

Cummins' strikes, Pujara ton keeps Ranchi Test in balance

Allegations and denials flew thick and fast between rival captains Virat Kohli and Steven Smith with the India skipper claiming that the home team physio Patrick Farhart was &quot;disrespected&quot; by visiting players.

Kohli alleged that some Australians unnecessarily taunted Farhart but Smith denied the claim.

&quot;They (four-five of them) started taking Patrick&#39;s name. I don&#39;t know why. He&#39;s our physio. His job is to treat me. I don&#39;t find the reason behind it. I could not understand. You must ask why they have started taking his name,&quot; said Kohli at a post-match press conference.

While saving a run on the first day of the third Test here, Kohli hurt his shoulder and Farhart rushed onto the field to attain to his injury. Kohli eventually left the field with the physio.

Later Glenn Maxwell was seen mocking Kohli&#39;s injury when he imitated his action by clutching his right shoulder after his dive to save a boundary. The Indian skipper&nbsp;too&nbsp;gave it back with a similar gesture when David Warner got out yesterday.

When an Australian scribe asked about the mocking incident involving himself and Glenn Maxwell, an upset Kohli said: &quot;It&#39;s funny all our guys ask about cricket as the first thing and you ask about something controversial. But it&#39;s okay. These things happen on the field.&quot;

However, Smith insisted that they never disrespected Farhart, who himself is an Australian.

&quot;It was a bit disappointing. I didn&#39;t actually do anything. Virat was having a go at me saying I was disrespecting Patrick Farhart. I was probably the exact opposite.

&quot;I think he probably did a pretty terrific job to be able to get Virat back on the field after that shoulder injury. He&#39;s a terrific physio and he obviously does a great job for them,&quot; said Smith.

Asked about his take on the spirit of the game, Smith said: &quot;There&#39;s always a bit of tension when you&#39;re playing India in Test matches. As far I&#39;m concerned it&#39;s being played in the right spirit on the field and it&#39;s a hard and tough grind. That&#39;s how I would explain it and no issues with that.&quot; 
 
(PTI)

Kohli alleged that some Australians unnecessarily taunted Patrick Farhart by taking his name

Allegations and denials flew thick and fast between rival captains Virat Kohli and Steven Smith with the India skipper claiming that the home team physio Patrick Farhart was "disrespected" by visiting players. Kohli alleged that some Australians unnecessarily taunted Farhart but Smith denied the claim. "They (four-five of them) started taking Patrick's name. I don't know why. He's our physio. His job is to treat me. I don't find the reason behind it. I could not understand. You must ask why they have started taking his name," said Kohli at a post-match press conference. While saving a run on the first day of the third Test here, Kohli hurt his shoulder and Farhart rushed onto the field to attain to his injury. Kohli eventually left the field with the physio. Later Glenn Maxwell was seen mocking Kohli's injury when he imitated his action by clutching his right shoulder after his dive to save a boundary. The Indian skipper too gave it back with a similar gesture when David Warner got out yesterday. When an Australian scribe asked about the mocking incident involving himself and Glenn Maxwell, an upset Kohli said: "It's funny all our guys ask about cricket as the first thing and you ask about something controversial. But it's okay. These things happen on the field." However, Smith insisted that they never disrespected Farhart, who himself is an Australian. "It was a bit disappointing. I didn't actually do anything. Virat was having a go at me saying I was disrespecting Patrick Farhart. I was probably the exact opposite. "I think he probably did a pretty terrific job to be able to get Virat back on the field after that shoulder injury. He's a terrific physio and he obviously does a great job for them," said Smith. Asked about his take on the spirit of the game, Smith said: "There's always a bit of tension when you're playing India in Test matches. As far I'm concerned it's being played in the right spirit on the field and it's a hard and tough grind. That's how I would explain it and no issues with that." (PTI)

Virat Kohli claims Aussies 'disrespected' Team India physio, Steven Smith denies claims

India Skipper Virat Kohli will undergo scans on his injured shoulder after leaving the field in the afternoon session of the opening day&#39;s play in the third Test against Australia Thursday.

&quot;The exact status of Virat&#39;s injury will be known by tomorrow morning. He is going to undergo scans later today,&quot; India&#39;s fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar told reporters in Ranchi.

Kohli hurt his right shoulder while fielding and went off the field in the 40th over, leaving vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side for the rest of the day.

Kohli fell&nbsp;awkwardly while trying to cut off a boundary at long-on and instantly walked away, clutching his shoulder. He was seen putting on ice packs in the dressing room.

&quot;We took a precaution (in taking him off the field) to make sure that he doesn&#39;t aggravate the injury,&quot; Sridhar said.

&quot;It was quite an intense chase to the boundary line. In his intent to save that one run, he stopped the ball but landed on his right shoulder when he rolled over.

&quot;The impact was quite heavy because of the momentum he was carrying and there was a shock on his right shoulder,&quot; he added.

Australia piled on the runs in Kohli&#39;s absence to end the day on 299 for four with skipper Steve Smith (117) and Glenn Maxwell (82) at the crease.

The batting duo put on an unbeaten 159-run stand for the fifth wicket with Rahane rotating his bowling options with little success.

&quot;I thought Ajinkya did a good job filling in for Virat...He kept taking advice from Ishant (Sharma) and (Ravichandran) Ashwin who are the seniors of the team,&quot; said Sridhar.

Kohli has already been off the ground for over three hours and will have to take the field for an equal amount of time before he is able to bat at his usual number four position.

(AFP)

The Indian captain Kohli hurt his right shoulder while fielding and went off the field in the 40th over

India Skipper Virat Kohli will undergo scans on his injured shoulder after leaving the field in the afternoon session of the opening day's play in the third Test against Australia Thursday. "The exact status of Virat's injury will be known by tomorrow morning. He is going to undergo scans later today," India's fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar told reporters in Ranchi. Kohli hurt his right shoulder while fielding and went off the field in the 40th over, leaving vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side for the rest of the day. Kohli fell awkwardly while trying to cut off a boundary at long-on and instantly walked away, clutching his shoulder. He was seen putting on ice packs in the dressing room. "We took a precaution (in taking him off the field) to make sure that he doesn't aggravate the injury," Sridhar said. "It was quite an intense chase to the boundary line. In his intent to save that one run, he stopped the ball but landed on his right shoulder when he rolled over. "The impact was quite heavy because of the momentum he was carrying and there was a shock on his right shoulder," he added. Australia piled on the runs in Kohli's absence to end the day on 299 for four with skipper Steve Smith (117) and Glenn Maxwell (82) at the crease. The batting duo put on an unbeaten 159-run stand for the fifth wicket with Rahane rotating his bowling options with little success. "I thought Ajinkya did a good job filling in for Virat...He kept taking advice from Ishant (Sharma) and (Ravichandran) Ashwin who are the seniors of the team," said Sridhar. Kohli has already been off the ground for over three hours and will have to take the field for an equal amount of time before he is able to bat at his usual number four position. (AFP)

Virat Kohli to undergo shoulder scan

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take cognisance of Australian skipper Steve Smith seeking dressing room help for a DRS call.

Former India captains have called on cricket authorities to investigate Australia skipper Steve Smith amid allegations his team flouted the rules of the game when deciding whether to review decisions during the second test.

Incensed India captain Virat Kohli accused Smith of &#39;crossing the line&#39; on day four of the Bangalore match on Tuesday when he was given out lbw and looked toward the players&#39; area in the stands when deciding whether to review the verdict using the Decision Review System.

Players are not allowed to seek direction apart from conferring with the non-striker.

Smith said it had been a one-off incident caused by a &quot;brain fade&quot; but Kohli countered that it was not the only time it had happened and that he had complained to the match officials.

Former India captain and broadcaster Sunil Gavaskar called on the International Cricket Council to investigate.

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&quot;I don&#39;t think that was in the spirit of the game. We have to see what the ICC and match referee do,&quot; Gavaskar told local broadcaster NDTV.

&quot;I have not seen other earlier incidents but I saw it clearly when Smith did that today, he was clearly gesturing to the dressing room.&quot;

Sourav Ganguly, who captained India from 2000-05, also demanded authorities &quot;take action&quot;.

&quot;The umpires and match referee must ensure this doesn&rsquo;t happen in future,&quot; he told Indian broadcaster Aaj Tak.

Peter Handscomb, who was at the non-striker&#39;s end during the incident, tweeted after the 75-run defeat that he was to blame.

&quot;I referred smudga (Smith) to look at the box... my fault and was unaware of the rule. Shouldn&#39;t take anything away from what was an amazing game!&quot; he wrote.

Michael Clarke, Smith&#39;s predecessor as captain, said he had concerns about the actions of his former team mate.

&quot;I want to find out from the Australian team if they&#39;re using the DRS in that way, if they are then that is unacceptable,&quot; Clarke told TV station India Today.

&quot;The fact that Peter Handscomb is even thinking about telling the Australian captain to turn around and look to the support staff, I&#39;ve got my concerns.&quot;

The DRS storm capped a tense and sometimes ill-tempered match, with a number of heated verbal exchanges prompting interventions from the umpires to calm players down.

Kohli&#39;s accusations and any action taken by the ICC are bound to reverberate in coming days, with the four-match series locked at 1-1 before the third test in Ranchi next week.

Australian media likened the controversy to the infamous Sydney Cricket Ground test in 2008, which soured relations between the teams for a number of years.

The Anil Kumble-captained Indians threatened to abandon the series after bowler Harbhajan Singh was found guilty of racially abusing Australia&#39;s Andrew Symonds, a conviction that was later overturned.

After Australia won the tense match on day five, Kumble said: &quot;Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game.&quot;

(Reuters)

After being given lbw, Smith is accused of conferring -- on whether the decision should be reviewed -- with the Australian dressing room

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take cognisance of Australian skipper Steve Smith seeking dressing room help for a DRS call. Former India captains have called on cricket authorities to investigate Australia skipper Steve Smith amid allegations his team flouted the rules of the game when deciding whether to review decisions during the second test. Incensed India captain Virat Kohli accused Smith of 'crossing the line' on day four of the Bangalore match on Tuesday when he was given out lbw and looked toward the players' area in the stands when deciding whether to review the verdict using the Decision Review System. Players are not allowed to seek direction apart from conferring with the non-striker. Smith said it had been a one-off incident caused by a "brain fade" but Kohli countered that it was not the only time it had happened and that he had complained to the match officials. Former India captain and broadcaster Sunil Gavaskar called on the International Cricket Council to investigate. Players are not allowed to seek direction apart from conferring with the non-striker × "I don't think that was in the spirit of the game. We have to see what the ICC and match referee do," Gavaskar told local broadcaster NDTV. "I have not seen other earlier incidents but I saw it clearly when Smith did that today, he was clearly gesturing to the dressing room." Sourav Ganguly, who captained India from 2000-05, also demanded authorities "take action". "The umpires and match referee must ensure this doesn’t happen in future," he told Indian broadcaster Aaj Tak. Peter Handscomb, who was at the non-striker's end during the incident, tweeted after the 75-run defeat that he was to blame. "I referred smudga (Smith) to look at the box... my fault and was unaware of the rule. Shouldn't take anything away from what was an amazing game!" he wrote. Michael Clarke, Smith's predecessor as captain, said he had concerns about the actions of his former team mate. "I want to find out from the Australian team if they're using the DRS in that way, if they are then that is unacceptable," Clarke told TV station India Today. "The fact that Peter Handscomb is even thinking about telling the Australian captain to turn around and look to the support staff, I've got my concerns." The DRS storm capped a tense and sometimes ill-tempered match, with a number of heated verbal exchanges prompting interventions from the umpires to calm players down. Kohli's accusations and any action taken by the ICC are bound to reverberate in coming days, with the four-match series locked at 1-1 before the third test in Ranchi next week. Australian media likened the controversy to the infamous Sydney Cricket Ground test in 2008, which soured relations between the teams for a number of years. The Anil Kumble-captained Indians threatened to abandon the series after bowler Harbhajan Singh was found guilty of racially abusing Australia's Andrew Symonds, a conviction that was later overturned. After Australia won the tense match on day five, Kumble said: "Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game." (Reuters)

Former India captains Ganguly, Gavaskar want probe into Steve Smith's DRS call

Cricket&#39;s governing body said Wednesday they would bring together the captains of India and Australia to clear the air after the dramatic second Test was marred by accusations of cheating.

The International Cricket Council said &quot;no further action&quot; would be taken against the skippers in the wake of India&#39;s 75-run victory over Australia in Bangalore earlier this week that was overshadowed by a spiralling war of words.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli`s accused Steve Smith of abusing the decision review system (DRS) after he was seen looking to the Australian dressing-room while considering appealing against his dismissal for lbw.

The rules forbid players from consulting with anyone off the pitch about whether to seek a review from the umpires.

Smith admitted he had been at fault but put it down to a one-off &quot;brain-fade&quot; but an angry Kohli said it was far from an isolated incident, suggesting it had been happening for the entire Test.

The ICC said neither skipper had violated the council`s code of conduct but the match referee would bring both captains together ahead of the next Test &quot;to remind them of their responsibilities to the game&quot;.

&quot;We have just witnessed a magnificent game of Test cricket where players from both teams gave their all and emotions were running high during and after the match,&quot; ICC chief executive David Richardson said in a statement.

&quot;We would encourage both teams to focus their energies on the third Test in Ranchi next week.&quot;

India won the Test after Australia crashed to 112 all out on the fourth-day, bringing the world`s top-two sides into a 1-1 draw in the four-match series. 
 
(AFP)

BCCI had asked the International Cricket Council to probe the cheating allegations against the Australian skipper

Cricket's governing body said Wednesday they would bring together the captains of India and Australia to clear the air after the dramatic second Test was marred by accusations of cheating. The International Cricket Council said "no further action" would be taken against the skippers in the wake of India's 75-run victory over Australia in Bangalore earlier this week that was overshadowed by a spiralling war of words. Indian skipper Virat Kohli`s accused Steve Smith of abusing the decision review system (DRS) after he was seen looking to the Australian dressing-room while considering appealing against his dismissal for lbw. The rules forbid players from consulting with anyone off the pitch about whether to seek a review from the umpires. Smith admitted he had been at fault but put it down to a one-off "brain-fade" but an angry Kohli said it was far from an isolated incident, suggesting it had been happening for the entire Test. The ICC said neither skipper had violated the council`s code of conduct but the match referee would bring both captains together ahead of the next Test "to remind them of their responsibilities to the game". "We have just witnessed a magnificent game of Test cricket where players from both teams gave their all and emotions were running high during and after the match," ICC chief executive David Richardson said in a statement. "We would encourage both teams to focus their energies on the third Test in Ranchi next week." India won the Test after Australia crashed to 112 all out on the fourth-day, bringing the world`s top-two sides into a 1-1 draw in the four-match series. (AFP)

No action against Virat Kohli, Steve Smith in DRS row: ICC

Australia beat India by 333 runs on Saturday in an outstanding victory that ended the hosts&#39; winning streak of 19 Tests in the opening match of the series in Pune.

Chasing a daunting 441, the world&#39;s top side crashed to 107 all out early in the final session after left-arm spinner Steve O&#39;Keefe&#39;s match haul of 12 wickets, handing number-two ranked Australia the upset win inside three days.

O&#39;Keefe&#39;s heroics enabled Australia to register their first Test win on Indian soil since 2004 as they took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

The visitors last won a Test at Nagpur in October 2004, clinching the four-match series 2-1 under the then captain Ricky Ponting.

Second-ranked Australia also registered their first win in Asia after nine losses including their 3-0 thrashing in Sri Lanka last year.

Australia skipper Steve Smith rated the win as &quot;right up there&quot;, saying: &quot;Coming to India, we haven&#39;t won a game here 4502 days. I have been told those facts.&quot;

&quot;So it&#39;s been an incredibly long time...You know it&#39;s a great challenge and in this game the boys were up to the challenge,&quot; Smith told reporters.

The 32-year-old returned with impressive figures of 6-35 as he got good support from off spinner Nathan Lyon, who bagged six wickets at India&#39;s newest Test venue.

Lyon got the final wicket of Jayant Yadav (55) as the second-ranked Australian side got into a celebratory huddle.

O&#39;Keefe made India falter twice on a turning track as another 6-35 in the first innings saw the hosts bundle out for 105.

&quot;O&#39;Keefe was outstanding. We&#39;ve got some good players (batsmen) of spin and good spinners,&quot; said Smith.

A wily O&#39;Keefe got the big wicket of Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he bowled the star batsman for 13, stunning the home crowd into silence.

It was a rare failure for Kohli, who was out for a duck in the first innings, after scoring double hundreds in four successive series since July.

&quot;They exploited it (the pitch) better than us. They put us under pressure throughout and deserved to win this game,&quot; said Kohli.

&quot;We&#39;ve had two really bad sessions and to pull it back against a quality side is very difficult. No excuses.&quot;

&#39;A bit of luck&#39;&nbsp;

Earlier on Saturday Australian skipper Steve Smith struck his first century in India before the visitors were bowled out for 285 in an extended morning session.

Smith made 109 to compound India&#39;s misery after O&#39;Keefe had put the visitors on top on day two at Pune&#39;s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

&quot;Rode my luck throughout the innings. Had a few lives but you need a bit of luck on a wicket like that and. I was pleased with myself to score a second innings hundred in India,&quot; said Smith.

Mitchell Starc also played a big part after scoring 61 in Australia&#39;s first innings of 260 after the visitors won a crucial toss.

Starc then took two wickets in India&#39;s first essay, getting Kohli out for nought. Starc also hit a breezy 30 in the second innings.

Young opener Matt Renshaw&#39;s gritty 68 on day one also signalled Australia&#39;s intent of putting up a show on India&#39;s home turf.

The 20-year-old Renshaw fought an upset stomach to score crucial runs in challenging conditions.&nbsp;

The teams now head to Bangalore for the second Test starting March 4. The final two games are scheduled in Ranchi and Dharamsala.

(AFP)

O'Keefe's 12-wicket haul ended India's 19-match unbeaten streak in the first Test of the four-match series

Australia beat India by 333 runs on Saturday in an outstanding victory that ended the hosts' winning streak of 19 Tests in the opening match of the series in Pune. Chasing a daunting 441, the world's top side crashed to 107 all out early in the final session after left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe's match haul of 12 wickets, handing number-two ranked Australia the upset win inside three days. O'Keefe's heroics enabled Australia to register their first Test win on Indian soil since 2004 as they took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The visitors last won a Test at Nagpur in October 2004, clinching the four-match series 2-1 under the then captain Ricky Ponting. Second-ranked Australia also registered their first win in Asia after nine losses including their 3-0 thrashing in Sri Lanka last year. Australia skipper Steve Smith rated the win as "right up there", saying: "Coming to India, we haven't won a game here 4502 days. I have been told those facts." "So it's been an incredibly long time...You know it's a great challenge and in this game the boys were up to the challenge," Smith told reporters. The 32-year-old returned with impressive figures of 6-35 as he got good support from off spinner Nathan Lyon, who bagged six wickets at India's newest Test venue. Lyon got the final wicket of Jayant Yadav (55) as the second-ranked Australian side got into a celebratory huddle. O'Keefe made India falter twice on a turning track as another 6-35 in the first innings saw the hosts bundle out for 105. "O'Keefe was outstanding. We've got some good players (batsmen) of spin and good spinners," said Smith. A wily O'Keefe got the big wicket of Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he bowled the star batsman for 13, stunning the home crowd into silence. It was a rare failure for Kohli, who was out for a duck in the first innings, after scoring double hundreds in four successive series since July. "They exploited it (the pitch) better than us. They put us under pressure throughout and deserved to win this game," said Kohli. "We've had two really bad sessions and to pull it back against a quality side is very difficult. No excuses." 'A bit of luck' Earlier on Saturday Australian skipper Steve Smith struck his first century in India before the visitors were bowled out for 285 in an extended morning session. Smith made 109 to compound India's misery after O'Keefe had put the visitors on top on day two at Pune's Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. "Rode my luck throughout the innings. Had a few lives but you need a bit of luck on a wicket like that and. I was pleased with myself to score a second innings hundred in India," said Smith. Mitchell Starc also played a big part after scoring 61 in Australia's first innings of 260 after the visitors won a crucial toss. Starc then took two wickets in India's first essay, getting Kohli out for nought. Starc also hit a breezy 30 in the second innings. Young opener Matt Renshaw's gritty 68 on day one also signalled Australia's intent of putting up a show on India's home turf. The 20-year-old Renshaw fought an upset stomach to score crucial runs in challenging conditions. The teams now head to Bangalore for the second Test starting March 4. The final two games are scheduled in Ranchi and Dharamsala. (AFP)

O'Keefe, Lyon spin web around India to help Australia win big

&nbsp;Australia paceman Mitchell Starc ripped the heart out of India&#39;s top order with two wickets in three balls to help reduce the hosts to 70 for three at lunch on the second day of the opening test on Friday.

Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for six, while India captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was despatched for a two-ball duck as the touring side fought back strongly in the first of the four-match series between the world&#39;s top two sides.

Replying to their opponent&#39;s first innings total of 260 on a wicket favouring both pace and spin, assured opener Lokesh Rahul was unbeaten on 47 with Ajinkya Rahane six not out at the break.

Following Kohli&#39;s lead, Australia skipper Steve Smith used one of his spinners as early as the second over on the dry pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in the Western Indian city of Pune, a venue making its debut as a test centre.

Left-armer Steve O&#39;Keefe was largely ineffective, however, before right-arm paceman Josh Hazlewood came on to break India&#39;s opening stand in his first over when he induced Murali Vijay into edging a catch behind for 10.

Starc was Australia&#39;s new ball pace option but the left-armer was unable to find much success with the new cherry as Rahul settled in quickly to hit him for a few crisply driven boundaries.

Widely considered the world&#39;s leading test paceman, Starc would not be denied and he returned to see off Pujara with a rising delivery that brushed the batsman&#39;s glove and sailed through to wicketkeeper Matthew Wade.

The sparse crowd appeared indifferent to Pujara&#39;s dismissal as they anticipated the arrival of fan-favourite Kohli, who recently became the first batsman to hit four double-centuries in as many consecutive series.

However, their boisterous enthusiasm was replaced by stunned silence just two balls later when the right-hander chased a full and wide delivery from Starc to offer up a routine slip catch.

Rahul and Rahane negotiated the remaining overs through to lunch, though the latter almost perished to off-spin when he edged a Nathan Lyon delivery just wide of a leg slip.

Earlier, Australia&#39;s final-wicket pairing lasted less than an over in the morning session with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dismissing Starc for an eventful knock of 61.

(Reuters)

Virat Kohli was despatched for a two-ball duck as the touring side fought back strongly in the first of the four-match series

Australia paceman Mitchell Starc ripped the heart out of India's top order with two wickets in three balls to help reduce the hosts to 70 for three at lunch on the second day of the opening test on Friday. Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for six, while India captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was despatched for a two-ball duck as the touring side fought back strongly in the first of the four-match series between the world's top two sides. Replying to their opponent's first innings total of 260 on a wicket favouring both pace and spin, assured opener Lokesh Rahul was unbeaten on 47 with Ajinkya Rahane six not out at the break. Following Kohli's lead, Australia skipper Steve Smith used one of his spinners as early as the second over on the dry pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in the Western Indian city of Pune, a venue making its debut as a test centre. Left-armer Steve O'Keefe was largely ineffective, however, before right-arm paceman Josh Hazlewood came on to break India's opening stand in his first over when he induced Murali Vijay into edging a catch behind for 10. Starc was Australia's new ball pace option but the left-armer was unable to find much success with the new cherry as Rahul settled in quickly to hit him for a few crisply driven boundaries. Widely considered the world's leading test paceman, Starc would not be denied and he returned to see off Pujara with a rising delivery that brushed the batsman's glove and sailed through to wicketkeeper Matthew Wade. The sparse crowd appeared indifferent to Pujara's dismissal as they anticipated the arrival of fan-favourite Kohli, who recently became the first batsman to hit four double-centuries in as many consecutive series. However, their boisterous enthusiasm was replaced by stunned silence just two balls later when the right-hander chased a full and wide delivery from Starc to offer up a routine slip catch. Rahul and Rahane negotiated the remaining overs through to lunch, though the latter almost perished to off-spin when he edged a Nathan Lyon delivery just wide of a leg slip. Earlier, Australia's final-wicket pairing lasted less than an over in the morning session with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dismissing Starc for an eventful knock of 61. (Reuters)

Starc strikes twice to leave India down and out before lunch

India beat Bangladesh by 208 runs to win the one-off Test at Hyderabad on the fifth and final day on Monday.

Set an unlikely victory target of 459, Bangladesh were dismissed for 250 shortly after the scheduled tea break.

India spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets each to take India to victory.

Bangladesh did show resistance, batting over 100 overs but scoreboard pressure coupled with concerted bowling by the Indians made their hard work go in vain.

Ashwin, who in his 45th Test had become the fastest bowler to claim 250 Test wickets on Sunday, trapped Taskin Ahmed lbw to complete the win as an umpire referral put India&#39;s celebrations on hold.

The lanky off-spinner got first innings centurion Mushfqur Rahim (23) in the morning session to dent Bangladesh&#39;s hopes of saving the match.

Earlier in the first session, Jadeja dismissed star batsman Shakib Al Hasan (22), who added just one run to his overnight score.

Mahmudullah then put on fighting partnerships with Rahim and Sabbir Rahman to resist the Indian attack on what still seemed to be a decent batting track.

India had bowled out Bangladesh for 388 in their second innings and decided to build on their 299-run lead after not enforcing the follow-on.

Ninth-ranked Bangladesh were always left playing catch-up after the hosts posted a mammoth 687-6 declared in their first innings.

Skipper Virat Kohli, who won his sixth successive Test series as captain, led the way with his blazing 204 after the hosts elected to bat first.

The 28-year-old became the first batsman to score double centuries in four consecutive series, surpassing legends like Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid.

Indian batting reined supreme against an inexperienced Bangladesh bowling attack with the innings witnessing four centuries and three 50s.

India maintained their unbeaten record against the minnows with seven wins and two draws in nine encounters.

India are now scheduled to host Australia in a four-match Test series starting February 23 in Pune.

Final scoreboard:&nbsp;

India 687-6 dec (V. Kohli 204, M. Vijay 108; T. Islam 3-156)

Bangladesh 1st innings 388 (M. Rahim 127, Shakib Al Hasan 82; U. Yadav 3-84)

India 2nd innings 159-4 dec (C. Pujara 54 not not; Shakib Al Hasan 2-50)

Bangladesh 2nd innings (target 459; overnight 103-3, Mahmudullah 9 not out, Shakib Al Hasan 21 not out)

Tamim Iqbal c Kohli b Ashwin &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3

Soumya Sarkar c Rahane b Jadeja &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;42

Mominul Haque c Rahane b Ashwin &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;27

Mahmudullah c Kumar b Sharma &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;64

Shakib Al Hasan c Pujara b Jadeja&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;22

Mushfiqur Rahim c Jadeja b Ashwin &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;23

Sabbir Rahman lbw b Sharma &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;22

Mehedi Hasan c Saha b Jadeja &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;23

Kamrul Islam Rabbi not out &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3

Taijul Islam c Rahul b Jadeja &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6

Taskin Ahmed lbw b Ashwin &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1

Extras (b 4, lb 7, nb 3) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;14 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Total (all out; 100.3 overs) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; 250

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Iqbal), 2-71 (Sarkar), 3-75 (Haque), 4-106 (Shakib), 5-162 (Rahim), 6-213 (Rahman), 7-225 (Mahmudullah), 8-242 (Hasan), 9-249 (Taijul), 10-250 (Ahmed)

Bowling: Kumar 8-4-15-0, Ashwin 30.3-10-73-4, Sharma 13-3-40-2 (3nb), Yadav 12-2-33-0, Jadeja 37-15-78-4

Toss: India

Result: India win by 208 runs

Umpires:&nbsp;Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Joel Wilson (WIS)

TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

Match referee:&nbsp;Andy Pycroft (ZIM)&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

India spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets each to take India to victory.

India beat Bangladesh by 208 runs to win the one-off Test at Hyderabad on the fifth and final day on Monday. Set an unlikely victory target of 459, Bangladesh were dismissed for 250 shortly after the scheduled tea break. India spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets each to take India to victory. Bangladesh did show resistance, batting over 100 overs but scoreboard pressure coupled with concerted bowling by the Indians made their hard work go in vain. Ashwin, who in his 45th Test had become the fastest bowler to claim 250 Test wickets on Sunday, trapped Taskin Ahmed lbw to complete the win as an umpire referral put India's celebrations on hold. The lanky off-spinner got first innings centurion Mushfqur Rahim (23) in the morning session to dent Bangladesh's hopes of saving the match. Earlier in the first session, Jadeja dismissed star batsman Shakib Al Hasan (22), who added just one run to his overnight score. Mahmudullah then put on fighting partnerships with Rahim and Sabbir Rahman to resist the Indian attack on what still seemed to be a decent batting track. India had bowled out Bangladesh for 388 in their second innings and decided to build on their 299-run lead after not enforcing the follow-on. Ninth-ranked Bangladesh were always left playing catch-up after the hosts posted a mammoth 687-6 declared in their first innings. Skipper Virat Kohli, who won his sixth successive Test series as captain, led the way with his blazing 204 after the hosts elected to bat first. The 28-year-old became the first batsman to score double centuries in four consecutive series, surpassing legends like Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid. Indian batting reined supreme against an inexperienced Bangladesh bowling attack with the innings witnessing four centuries and three 50s. India maintained their unbeaten record against the minnows with seven wins and two draws in nine encounters. India are now scheduled to host Australia in a four-match Test series starting February 23 in Pune. Final scoreboard: India 687-6 dec (V. Kohli 204, M. Vijay 108; T. Islam 3-156) Bangladesh 1st innings 388 (M. Rahim 127, Shakib Al Hasan 82; U. Yadav 3-84) India 2nd innings 159-4 dec (C. Pujara 54 not not; Shakib Al Hasan 2-50) Bangladesh 2nd innings (target 459; overnight 103-3, Mahmudullah 9 not out, Shakib Al Hasan 21 not out) Tamim Iqbal c Kohli b Ashwin 3 Soumya Sarkar c Rahane b Jadeja 42 Mominul Haque c Rahane b Ashwin 27 Mahmudullah c Kumar b Sharma 64 Shakib Al Hasan c Pujara b Jadeja 22 Mushfiqur Rahim c Jadeja b Ashwin 23 Sabbir Rahman lbw b Sharma 22 Mehedi Hasan c Saha b Jadeja 23 Kamrul Islam Rabbi not out 3 Taijul Islam c Rahul b Jadeja 6 Taskin Ahmed lbw b Ashwin 1 Extras (b 4, lb 7, nb 3) 14 Total (all out; 100.3 overs) 250 Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Iqbal), 2-71 (Sarkar), 3-75 (Haque), 4-106 (Shakib), 5-162 (Rahim), 6-213 (Rahman), 7-225 (Mahmudullah), 8-242 (Hasan), 9-249 (Taijul), 10-250 (Ahmed) Bowling: Kumar 8-4-15-0, Ashwin 30.3-10-73-4, Sharma 13-3-40-2 (3nb), Yadav 12-2-33-0, Jadeja 37-15-78-4 Toss: India Result: India win by 208 runs Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Joel Wilson (WIS) TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM) (WION with inputs from AFP)

Test cricket: India beat Bangladesh by 208 runs

A dominant India remained in pursuit of a comprehensive victory after Bangladesh finished the penultimate day at a precarious 103 for three, chasing a mammoth target of 459 in the one-off Test here.

Rather than looking at the improbable task of scoring the remaining 356 runs, the visitors will try to stay afloat for minimum 90 overs on the fifth and final day and save the game.

Despite the benign nature of the track, India&rsquo;s bowling attack has firepower to get the remaining seven wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane&rsquo;s sharp one-handed catch off Ravindra Jadeja to dismiss a well-set Soumya Sarkar (42) put India in the driver&rsquo;s seat after the visitors looked comfortable during the post-tea session as they started their second innings.

Sarkar, along with Mominul Haque (27), had added 60 runs for the second wicket before the lanky left-hander poked at a Jadeja delivery that didn&rsquo;t turn much. The resultant edge was dipping down but Rahane showed fantastic reflexes to pull off a one-handed catch.

With the momentum broken, Ashwin then had Mominul deceived by the drift. The batsman pushed at a delivery, which turned a shade away to take the leading edge and present Rahane with another catch, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 75 for three.

Ashwin (2/34 in 16 overs), who completed the fastest 250 Test wickets, gave a better account of himself in the second innings by getting the turn and the drift. Being given the new ball helped him get some bounce off the pitch as well.

The pitch is still not offering a great deal of turn to the spinners, and had no hand in the wickets that Bangladesh lost in the second innings.

Seasoned Shakib Al Hasan (21 batting), along with Mahmudullah Riyadh (9 batting) and Mushfiqur Rahim, will need to bring their &lsquo;A&rsquo; game to the fore in order to save the game.

In the post-lunch session, Cheteshwar Pujara scored a quickfire half-century as India declared their second innings at 159 for four at the stroke of tea, leaving Bangladesh with a daunting target.

Pujara smashed 54 off 58 balls while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 off only 40 deliveries after having bowled out Bangladesh for 388 in their first innings.

A cushion of 299 was good enough for the hosts to go for the jugular even though openers Murali Vijay (7) and KL Rahul (10) were dismissed in quick succession by Taskin Ahmed (2/43).

But Pujara and Kohli upped the ante with an aim to have a a go at Bangladesh on the fourth day itself.

During their 67-run partnership, Pujara, surprisingly, was the aggressor even as Kohli scored at a quick pace.

Using Taskin&rsquo;s pace to his advantage, Pujara hooked him behind the square for a six.&nbsp;

Kohli was not one to be left behind as he lofted Shakib effortlessly for a six over long-on.

(PTI)

India's spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja took three wickets between them on fourth day of the Test as Bangladesh were given 459-run target

A dominant India remained in pursuit of a comprehensive victory after Bangladesh finished the penultimate day at a precarious 103 for three, chasing a mammoth target of 459 in the one-off Test here. Rather than looking at the improbable task of scoring the remaining 356 runs, the visitors will try to stay afloat for minimum 90 overs on the fifth and final day and save the game. Despite the benign nature of the track, India’s bowling attack has firepower to get the remaining seven wickets. Ajinkya Rahane’s sharp one-handed catch off Ravindra Jadeja to dismiss a well-set Soumya Sarkar (42) put India in the driver’s seat after the visitors looked comfortable during the post-tea session as they started their second innings. Sarkar, along with Mominul Haque (27), had added 60 runs for the second wicket before the lanky left-hander poked at a Jadeja delivery that didn’t turn much. The resultant edge was dipping down but Rahane showed fantastic reflexes to pull off a one-handed catch. With the momentum broken, Ashwin then had Mominul deceived by the drift. The batsman pushed at a delivery, which turned a shade away to take the leading edge and present Rahane with another catch, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 75 for three. Ashwin (2/34 in 16 overs), who completed the fastest 250 Test wickets, gave a better account of himself in the second innings by getting the turn and the drift. Being given the new ball helped him get some bounce off the pitch as well. The pitch is still not offering a great deal of turn to the spinners, and had no hand in the wickets that Bangladesh lost in the second innings. Seasoned Shakib Al Hasan (21 batting), along with Mahmudullah Riyadh (9 batting) and Mushfiqur Rahim, will need to bring their ‘A’ game to the fore in order to save the game. In the post-lunch session, Cheteshwar Pujara scored a quickfire half-century as India declared their second innings at 159 for four at the stroke of tea, leaving Bangladesh with a daunting target. Pujara smashed 54 off 58 balls while skipper Virat Kohli contributed 38 off only 40 deliveries after having bowled out Bangladesh for 388 in their first innings. A cushion of 299 was good enough for the hosts to go for the jugular even though openers Murali Vijay (7) and KL Rahul (10) were dismissed in quick succession by Taskin Ahmed (2/43). But Pujara and Kohli upped the ante with an aim to have a a go at Bangladesh on the fourth day itself. During their 67-run partnership, Pujara, surprisingly, was the aggressor even as Kohli scored at a quick pace. Using Taskin’s pace to his advantage, Pujara hooked him behind the square for a six. Kohli was not one to be left behind as he lofted Shakib effortlessly for a six over long-on. (PTI)

Bangladesh stare at defeat after India set mammoth target

Cheteshwar Pujara hit a brisk half-century to lead India&#39;s quest for quick runs as the hosts set Bangladesh an improbable 459 for victory with four sessions remaining in the one-off test at Hyderabad on Sunday.

Pujara was unbeaten on 54 off 58 balls with the world&#39;s top-ranked side declaring their second innings on 159 for four at tea with an overall lead of 458.

In the morning session, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim registered his fifth test hundred before his side were bundled out for 388 as the hosts took a first-innings lead of 299.

The 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman was the last man out for his side on 127 with Bangladesh&#39;s innings ending shortly before lunch.

India captain Virat Kohli opted against enforcing the follow-on after his bowlers needed almost an entire session to pick up Bangladesh&#39;s last four wickets.

Resuming on 322-6, the visitors got off to a bad start as seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar breached the defence of half-centurion Mehedi Hasan with the fourth ball of the morning without a run being added to their overnight total.

Paceman Umesh Yadav, the most impressive of India&#39;s bowlers, got Taijul Islam to glove one back to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, raising fears for Mushfiqur that he could run out of partners before getting to three figures.

However, Taskin Ahmed stayed with his captain for a 39-run ninth-wicket stand, during which Mushfiqur started scoring more freely.

The diminutive right-hander top-edged Ishant Sharma for a six and then reached his century when the lanky bowler misfielded near the boundary to allow the ball through for a four.

He was finally out, caught down the leg side to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who became the fastest bowler to pick up 250 test wickets with the dismissal.

Umesh finished with three wickets, while Ashwin and his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets apiece.

The hosts then batted for 29 overs and scored at a rate of more than five runs per over with useful contributions from Kohli (38) and Ajinkya Rahane (28).

Paceman Taskin and spinner Shakib Al Hasan shared the four Indian wickets to fall.

(Reuters)

Kohli opted against enforcing the follow-on after his bowlers needed almost an entire session to pick up Bangladesh's last four wickets

Cheteshwar Pujara hit a brisk half-century to lead India's quest for quick runs as the hosts set Bangladesh an improbable 459 for victory with four sessions remaining in the one-off test at Hyderabad on Sunday. Pujara was unbeaten on 54 off 58 balls with the world's top-ranked side declaring their second innings on 159 for four at tea with an overall lead of 458. In the morning session, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim registered his fifth test hundred before his side were bundled out for 388 as the hosts took a first-innings lead of 299. The 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman was the last man out for his side on 127 with Bangladesh's innings ending shortly before lunch. India captain Virat Kohli opted against enforcing the follow-on after his bowlers needed almost an entire session to pick up Bangladesh's last four wickets. Resuming on 322-6, the visitors got off to a bad start as seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar breached the defence of half-centurion Mehedi Hasan with the fourth ball of the morning without a run being added to their overnight total. Paceman Umesh Yadav, the most impressive of India's bowlers, got Taijul Islam to glove one back to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, raising fears for Mushfiqur that he could run out of partners before getting to three figures. However, Taskin Ahmed stayed with his captain for a 39-run ninth-wicket stand, during which Mushfiqur started scoring more freely. The diminutive right-hander top-edged Ishant Sharma for a six and then reached his century when the lanky bowler misfielded near the boundary to allow the ball through for a four. He was finally out, caught down the leg side to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who became the fastest bowler to pick up 250 test wickets with the dismissal. Umesh finished with three wickets, while Ashwin and his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets apiece. The hosts then batted for 29 overs and scored at a rate of more than five runs per over with useful contributions from Kohli (38) and Ajinkya Rahane (28). Paceman Taskin and spinner Shakib Al Hasan shared the four Indian wickets to fall. (Reuters)

India set Bangladesh 459 for victory in Hyderabad

Bangladesh fought back against India through half-centuries from Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehedi Hasan to reach 322 for six at the close of the third day&#39;s play in the one-off Test in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Bangladesh&#39;s most experienced pair of Shakib and Mushfiqur added 107 for the fifth-wicket before the latter combined with the 19-year-old Mehedi for an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 87 to frustrate the hosts.

The visitors still face a steep task if they are to avoid the follow-on in response to India&#39;s mammoth first innings total of 687-6 declared.

At stumps, captain Mushfiqur was unbeaten on 81 with Mehedi not out on 51, his maiden Test fifty, at the other end with Bangladesh still needing 166 runs to make India bat again. The duo kept India wicketless for the entire third session.

After resuming on 41-1, the touring side suffered a major blow in just the third over of the day when Tamim Iqbal was run out on his overnight score of 24.&nbsp;The left-handed opener was stranded near the middle of the pitch after a terrible mix-up with partner Mominul Haque while attempting a second run.

Paceman Umesh Yadav, who dismissed Soumya Sarkar on Friday, found enough reverse swing to trouble Bangladesh&#39;s batsmen before he pinned down Mominul in front of the stumps to dismiss him leg before for 12.

Umesh continued to trouble Mahmudullah with his pace and movement but pace-bowling colleague Ishant Sharma reaped the benefit by dismissing the batsman leg before for 28 in his first over of the day.

Ishant, who replaced Umesh, beat Mahmudullah&#39;s bat with an angled delivery and the batsman&#39;s attempt to overturn the decision on review also proved futile.&nbsp;Shakib then launched a counterattack against India&#39;s bowlers and his 21st test fifty was studded with 14 boundaries in a knock that came off 103 balls.

The left-hander was out caught trying to loft off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the world&#39;s top-ranked bowler in tests, over mid-off.&nbsp;Ashwin&#39;s left-arm spin colleague Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Sabbir Rahman for 16, the batsman falling leg-before while attempting a sweep shot.

Mushfiqur, who got the benefit of doubt in a run out appeal when he was batting on 18, showed plenty of application and temperament during his knock and will be crucial to Bangladesh&#39;s hopes of avoiding the follow-on.

Off-spinner Mehedi gave his captain, who suffered a blow to his right hand in the last over of the day against Ishant, able support and hit 10 crisp boundaries in his flourishing knock.

(Reuters)

Bangladesh fought back against India on the third day to reach 322 for six at close

Bangladesh fought back against India through half-centuries from Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehedi Hasan to reach 322 for six at the close of the third day's play in the one-off Test in Hyderabad on Saturday. Bangladesh's most experienced pair of Shakib and Mushfiqur added 107 for the fifth-wicket before the latter combined with the 19-year-old Mehedi for an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 87 to frustrate the hosts. The visitors still face a steep task if they are to avoid the follow-on in response to India's mammoth first innings total of 687-6 declared. At stumps, captain Mushfiqur was unbeaten on 81 with Mehedi not out on 51, his maiden Test fifty, at the other end with Bangladesh still needing 166 runs to make India bat again. The duo kept India wicketless for the entire third session. After resuming on 41-1, the touring side suffered a major blow in just the third over of the day when Tamim Iqbal was run out on his overnight score of 24. The left-handed opener was stranded near the middle of the pitch after a terrible mix-up with partner Mominul Haque while attempting a second run. Paceman Umesh Yadav, who dismissed Soumya Sarkar on Friday, found enough reverse swing to trouble Bangladesh's batsmen before he pinned down Mominul in front of the stumps to dismiss him leg before for 12. Umesh continued to trouble Mahmudullah with his pace and movement but pace-bowling colleague Ishant Sharma reaped the benefit by dismissing the batsman leg before for 28 in his first over of the day. Ishant, who replaced Umesh, beat Mahmudullah's bat with an angled delivery and the batsman's attempt to overturn the decision on review also proved futile. Shakib then launched a counterattack against India's bowlers and his 21st test fifty was studded with 14 boundaries in a knock that came off 103 balls. The left-hander was out caught trying to loft off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the world's top-ranked bowler in tests, over mid-off. Ashwin's left-arm spin colleague Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Sabbir Rahman for 16, the batsman falling leg-before while attempting a sweep shot. Mushfiqur, who got the benefit of doubt in a run out appeal when he was batting on 18, showed plenty of application and temperament during his knock and will be crucial to Bangladesh's hopes of avoiding the follow-on. Off-spinner Mehedi gave his captain, who suffered a blow to his right hand in the last over of the day against Ishant, able support and hit 10 crisp boundaries in his flourishing knock. (Reuters)

Test cricket: Bangladesh's Shakib, Mushfiqur defy India

Indian skipper Virat Kohli became the first batsman in Test history to score a double century in four consecutive series on Friday after he smashed 204 against Bangladesh.

The 28-year-old skipper went past legends including Australia&#39;s Donald Bradman and his compatriot Rahul Dravid, who both compiled double tons in three consecutive series.

Kohli had also scored double centuries in his three most recent series against West Indies, New Zealand and England before reaching the 200-run mark in the ongoing one-off Test in Hyderabad.

Kohli, who shared a 222-run fourth-wicket stand with Ajinkya Rahane, hit 24 boundaries during his 246-ball knock against a hapless Bangladesh attack.

During his innings, Kohli also&nbsp;registered the most Test runs in a home season, breaking Virender Sehwag&#39;s previous record of 1,105 in 17 innings.

Kohli was finally trapped lbw off Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam and walked off to a standing ovation from a raucous home crowd.
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Kohli also became the third batsman to score a double-century at Hyderabad&#39;s Uppal Stadium after New Zealand&#39;s Brendon McCullum (225) and teammate Cheteshwar Pujara (201).

He averages over 50 in 54 Test matches with 16 hundreds and 14 half centuries. His highest score remains the 235 in the Mumbai Test against England last year.

(AFP)
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Virat Kohli surpassed Australia's Donald Bradman and Rahul Dravid, who both compiled double centuries in three consecutive series

Indian skipper Virat Kohli became the first batsman in Test history to score a double century in four consecutive series on Friday after he smashed 204 against Bangladesh. The 28-year-old skipper went past legends including Australia's Donald Bradman and his compatriot Rahul Dravid, who both compiled double tons in three consecutive series. Kohli had also scored double centuries in his three most recent series against West Indies, New Zealand and England before reaching the 200-run mark in the ongoing one-off Test in Hyderabad. Kohli, who shared a 222-run fourth-wicket stand with Ajinkya Rahane, hit 24 boundaries during his 246-ball knock against a hapless Bangladesh attack. During his innings, Kohli also registered the most Test runs in a home season, breaking Virender Sehwag's previous record of 1,105 in 17 innings. Kohli was finally trapped lbw off Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam and walked off to a standing ovation from a raucous home crowd. Kohli also became the third batsman to score a double-century at Hyderabad's Uppal Stadium after New Zealand's Brendon McCullum (225) and teammate Cheteshwar Pujara (201). He averages over 50 in 54 Test matches with 16 hundreds and 14 half centuries. His highest score remains the 235 in the Mumbai Test against England last year. (AFP)

Ind vs Bangladesh: Kohli first batsman in Test history to score double ton in four consecutive series

India beat England by 5 runs in the second Twenty20 International to level the three-match series 1-1.

Sent into bat, India scored 144 for eight, and then restricted England to 139 for six in 20 overs.

Young Jasprit Bumrah shone in the death like never before as his excellent final over ensured India sensationally edged out England by five runs in the second Twenty20 International to level the three-match series here tonight.

Needing eight runs off six balls, Bumrah, all of 23, perhaps bowled the over of his life as he restricted England to just two runs and end their innings at 139 for six in pursuit of 145.

The match seemed to be in England&#39;s bag when Jos Buttler clobbered veteran Ashish Nehra for 16 runs with two sixes in the penultimate over. However, Bumrah had other ideas, eventually finishing with figures of 2/20 in 4 overs, while his senior colleague Nehra took 3/28.

This was after opener K L Rahul stood out with a breezy 71 on a surface where shot-making was difficult.

Put in to bat, Rahul&#39;s knock was the lone bright spot as India could manage a modest score before the bowlers turned the match around on its head.

England made light of the loss of openers Jason Roy and Sam Billings off successive balls in the fourth over bowled by left-arm pacer Nehra and were well on way to pull off the win when they rode on Root&#39;s run-a-ball 38 and Ben Stokes&#39; 38 and their fourth wicket partnership of 52 in 41 balls.

Root had been involved in an important third-wicket stand of 43 in 41 balls with his captain Eoin Morgan.

Nehra came back for his second spell and also broke through by dismissing Stokes leg before after the batsman had struck two sixes and two fours in his 33-ball knock and had been bowled off a no-ball by Amit Mishra.

Although Nehra was hit for 16 runs in his final over, Bumrah trapped Root leg before and then clean bowled Buttler in the final over to end the visitors&#39; hopes as Moeen Ali failed to connect the last ball with England needing six runs.

Earlier, Rahul finally struck form, but the Indian batting line-up floundered for the second match running.

India lost three wickets in the last over, including that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to end at 144 for 8. Rahul&#39;s 47-ball knock contained two sixes and six fours and his partnership of 56 with fellow Karnataka mate Manish Pandey (30 in 26 balls) was the only notable stand.

Wearing black armbands to mourn the sudden demise of India&#39;s under 19 and A team trainer Rajeev Sawant and the father of fast bowler Mohammed Shami who is not part of the squad, the home team batsmen failed to get going in earnest.

England did surprise captain Virat Kohli and Rahul by using left arm slow bowler Liam Dawson, who had replaced fast bowler Liam Plunkett in the XI in the horses for courses change, to open the bowling with the Tymal Mills.

Kohli, in fact, had a charmed life as he top-edged Mills who worked up good pace behind the &#39;keeper for a four that eluded the left-handed grasp of Sam Billings on the boundary line and then survived a close leg before appeal against Chris Jordan in the next over.

Kohli struck Mills for a six and a four in successive balls in the next over after surviving the leg before appeal but then was deceived by a slower ball from Jordan and holed out to long off for 21.

(PTI)

Put in to bat, Rahul's knock was the lone bright spot as India could manage a modest score before the bowlers turned the match around

India beat England by 5 runs in the second Twenty20 International to level the three-match series 1-1. Sent into bat, India scored 144 for eight, and then restricted England to 139 for six in 20 overs. Young Jasprit Bumrah shone in the death like never before as his excellent final over ensured India sensationally edged out England by five runs in the second Twenty20 International to level the three-match series here tonight. Needing eight runs off six balls, Bumrah, all of 23, perhaps bowled the over of his life as he restricted England to just two runs and end their innings at 139 for six in pursuit of 145. The match seemed to be in England's bag when Jos Buttler clobbered veteran Ashish Nehra for 16 runs with two sixes in the penultimate over. However, Bumrah had other ideas, eventually finishing with figures of 2/20 in 4 overs, while his senior colleague Nehra took 3/28. This was after opener K L Rahul stood out with a breezy 71 on a surface where shot-making was difficult. Put in to bat, Rahul's knock was the lone bright spot as India could manage a modest score before the bowlers turned the match around on its head. England made light of the loss of openers Jason Roy and Sam Billings off successive balls in the fourth over bowled by left-arm pacer Nehra and were well on way to pull off the win when they rode on Root's run-a-ball 38 and Ben Stokes' 38 and their fourth wicket partnership of 52 in 41 balls. Root had been involved in an important third-wicket stand of 43 in 41 balls with his captain Eoin Morgan. Nehra came back for his second spell and also broke through by dismissing Stokes leg before after the batsman had struck two sixes and two fours in his 33-ball knock and had been bowled off a no-ball by Amit Mishra. Although Nehra was hit for 16 runs in his final over, Bumrah trapped Root leg before and then clean bowled Buttler in the final over to end the visitors' hopes as Moeen Ali failed to connect the last ball with England needing six runs. Earlier, Rahul finally struck form, but the Indian batting line-up floundered for the second match running. India lost three wickets in the last over, including that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to end at 144 for 8. Rahul's 47-ball knock contained two sixes and six fours and his partnership of 56 with fellow Karnataka mate Manish Pandey (30 in 26 balls) was the only notable stand. Wearing black armbands to mourn the sudden demise of India's under 19 and A team trainer Rajeev Sawant and the father of fast bowler Mohammed Shami who is not part of the squad, the home team batsmen failed to get going in earnest. England did surprise captain Virat Kohli and Rahul by using left arm slow bowler Liam Dawson, who had replaced fast bowler Liam Plunkett in the XI in the horses for courses change, to open the bowling with the Tymal Mills. Kohli, in fact, had a charmed life as he top-edged Mills who worked up good pace behind the 'keeper for a four that eluded the left-handed grasp of Sam Billings on the boundary line and then survived a close leg before appeal against Chris Jordan in the next over. Kohli struck Mills for a six and a four in successive balls in the next over after surviving the leg before appeal but then was deceived by a slower ball from Jordan and holed out to long off for 21. (PTI)

India beat England by 5 runs in second T20 encounter, level series

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LIVE

18.1 Over: &nbsp;England has beaten India in the first match. Joe roots pounds Nehra for 2 consecutive boundaries. Great show by England. Our preview earlier had said England should not be underestimated. This sets up the series, so Virat Kohli who has taken over the T20 captaincy from MS Dhoni&nbsp;was unable to make a winning debut as skipper. England wrap-up the match with 11 balls remaining.

England 148/3, beat India by 7 wickets in&nbsp;T20 match at Kanpur.

Root: *46 runs(46 balls, 4 boundaries), *Ben Stokes: 2( 5 balls)

Welcome back, India will be keen to take wickets but England has ended the innings on a high, Let&#39;s see what happens. Keep following the match here!

1st Over: Billings to face Nehra, England make a cautious start. Just 4 runs from there over.

2nd Over: Bumrah to start proceedings. Boom boundary, this is proving to be expensive another one - boundary. SIX..Bumrah being slaughtered by Billings here. Another SIX and a boundary. This is a run feast unfolding at Greenpark. Bumrah destroyed in the first over. Kohli will have to change him.

England 24/0&nbsp;

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3rd Over: Nehra to bowl to Roy. SIX. Now Roy gets on the act. England have rocketed to 30/0.&nbsp;

4th Over: As expected Bumrah has been replaced by&nbsp;Yuzvendra Chahal. Roy hits him for a SIX, this is BIG. OUT, Roy dismissed. Chahal does it for India. England 42/1. Root walks in. Chahal gets another one - Billings OUT. India strike back.

England 43/2

5th Over:&nbsp;Yuzvendra Chahal is back in the attack. England&#39;s new pair - Root &amp; Morgan will take on the run chase now. This is crunch time for both teams. Both are now playing him cautiously. Just 2 runs from the over.

After 10 overs England is 79/2. Morgan &amp; Root holding the fort for England. India desperate to get a handle in the match with wickets.

11th Over: Pandya bowls to Root, great over, just 6 runs conceded.&nbsp;

This is interesting stuff, the match is on a knife&#39;s edge. Stay tuned for more.

12th Over: Raina bought into the attack, can he get a wicket for India? Morgan hits him for SIX, India feeling the heat now. England 92/1. Another single England reach 93/1.

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India is set to take on a resurgent England team in the first T20 match at Greenpark, Kanpur today.&nbsp;Eoin Morgan led from the front in the final ODI at Eden Gardens, Kolkata to deny India an ODI series whitewash. England might be underdogs but Virat&#39;s men cannot afford to take them lightly because they were the finalists in the World T20 less than a year ago which was hosted in India. Virat Kohli has a few combinations to work on, first is the opening conundrum - should he open, or is Raina a good deal? Maybe even KL Rahul&nbsp;- the captain must decide. The death overs has always been India&#39;s Achilles heal, Parvez Rasool&#39;s off-breaks could come in handy for India today, he along with Bumrah can probably cool&nbsp;Virat&#39;s nerves. The captain and the coach have to strategise together.

Statistically speaking, India is ranked 2nd in the ICC T20 rankings and England is ranked 5th. Interestingly, England leads India in T20s, the visitors have won 5 matches, India has managed to beat the English just thrice. Kanpur promises a riveting encounter, the weather is perfect for the game at 27 degrees with no possibility of rain.

The game starts at 4:30(India standard time)

WATCH OUT FOR LIVE ACTION.

England win toss, elect to bowl

India: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt),&nbsp;Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk),&nbsp;Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Parvez Rasool, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra,&nbsp;Jasprit Bumrah

England: Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid

1st Over: So we have a surprise early onVirat Kohli will open with Rahul. This is exciting, the Indian captain has decided to take the bull by the horn and lead from the front.Tymal Mills to begin the first over. Just the third ball and Kohli hits the ball for a boundary, whoosh back of a length ball gone. Fifth ball now Rahul gets on the act, another boundary. India is on the way. Run feast ahead...

India 9/0

2nd Over: Chris Jordan starts the new over, the Indian captain plays and misses a few times. Another boundary by #Virat Kohli. It is a special day today as India celebrates its #68th #Republic Day. Will Kohli give us a #RepublicDay gift, will find out.

India 16/0

3rd Over: Mills finishes the over without much fireworks, he is holding one end up.

4th over:&nbsp;Plunkett now introduced into the attack, will Kohli take him on? First ball boundary, second ball boundary...this is BIG. The Indian captain is leading from the front, India rockets to 30/0. India takes 10 from the over.

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Virat Kohli has given India a flying start (AFP)
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5th over: Jordan to start the new over, can he provide the breakthrough? Out, he get Rahul, ball directed at the body, Rahul plays it, easily caught. India lose their first wicket. Raina comes in

6th over: Raina hammers Plunkett for a boundary. Another boundary, so Raina has started with a bang...Virat and Raina can really explode here, England better watch out.

India - 47/1 
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Virat Kohli made it back in the nick of time to watch his hero&#39;s hero, Federer win the semi finals<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvsEng?src=hash">#IndvsEng</a>
&mdash; Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/BoredCricket/status/824583533851185152">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<center style="text-align: left;">7th Over: Surprise, surprise Moeen Ali introduced into the attack, this could be a real masterstroke. First ball - Virat Out. Caught at midwicket. This is a big one. A real genius move from Morgan to bring on Ali. Yuvraj comes in. India is now 55/2.</center>

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8th Over: Stokes back in the attack. Both players are relatively new at the crease, taking it easy. Yuvraj trying to settle&nbsp;down. Last ball, Raina whacks it for a boundary. India holding ground but England is keeping a lid on India.

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The old hunting pair is back <a href="https://twitter.com/msdhoni">@msdhoni</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ImRaina">@ImRaina</a> Hope we get a big total and they both remain not out.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvsEng?src=hash">#IndvsEng</a>
&mdash; Shubham Kothari (@Shubhammsd7ftd) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shubhammsd7ftd/status/824586353270743040">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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9th Over: Moeen Ali to continue.&nbsp;Yuvraj and Raina are busy taking singles and mixing it up with boundaries. Another boundary by Yuvraj. India motors along 75/2.

10th Over: Yuvraj Out. Plunkett strikes. Top edge lands in Rashid&#39;s hand, this after Yuvraj just got the benefit of the doubt in the last ball. India continues to lose wickets. Dhoni is in now. India 82/3. Raina hammers another one to the boundary.

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It&#39;s India&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RepublicDay?src=hash">#RepublicDay</a>. It is natural for Pakistan and England to fumble in the field. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusvPak?src=hash">#AusvPak</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvsEng?src=hash">#IndvsEng</a>
&mdash; Sagar (@sagarcasm) <a href="https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/824584256630317057">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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11th Over: #Suresh Raina has to hold the ground along with India&#39;s former T20 captain Dhoni. Ali continues to bowl, India is negotiating him carefully. Ali concedes just 7runs. India 88/3.

12th Over: #Raina OUT. He is bowled by Stokes. India 98/4. Indian wickets are tumbling here at Kanpur. England is doing the right thing, taking wickets and keeping India pegged back.

13th Over: Another Indian wicket falls, this time it is Manish Pandey. Ali is the star, he has taken 2 vital wickets. India 103/5. India now desperately needs a partnership.

14th Over: Plunkett to continue. Jadhav faces him. India is on the backfoot now. Dhoni and Pandya have to hold the fort for India now. India 105/5.
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16th Over: Mills gets Pandya, England is really shaking up India here! India is 122/6 now. India pegged back now. The hosts would be lucky to reach 160.

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18th Over:&nbsp;#Rasool &amp; #Dhoni at the crease. India has managed just 132 for the loss of 6 wickets. Mills is keeping it tight. India&#39;s last boundary came in the 15th over, so they are being really strangled here!

19th Over: Just 7 runs from this over, India is now depending on Dhoni to push India towards 150. The last over coming up.

20th Over: First ball - Dhoni dropped, this could prove costly. Jordan bowls another one, boundary and another one. Consecutive boundaries, Dhoni is the man, ice cool. Out, Rasool&nbsp;is Run-Out. Wasted effort in the last over. India manage two runs off the last ball.&nbsp;147/7, just below par but a good fight to get there!

England need 148 runs to win

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England take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T-20 series

LIVE 18.1 Over: England has beaten India in the first match. Joe roots pounds Nehra for 2 consecutive boundaries. Great show by England. Our preview earlier had said England should not be underestimated. This sets up the series, so Virat Kohli who has taken over the T20 captaincy from MS Dhoni was unable to make a winning debut as skipper. England wrap-up the match with 11 balls remaining. England 148/3, beat India by 7 wickets in T20 match at Kanpur. Root: *46 runs(46 balls, 4 boundaries), *Ben Stokes: 2( 5 balls) Welcome back, India will be keen to take wickets but England has ended the innings on a high, Let's see what happens. Keep following the match here! 1st Over: Billings to face Nehra, England make a cautious start. Just 4 runs from there over. 2nd Over: Bumrah to start proceedings. Boom boundary, this is proving to be expensive another one - boundary. SIX..Bumrah being slaughtered by Billings here. Another SIX and a boundary. This is a run feast unfolding at Greenpark. Bumrah destroyed in the first over. Kohli will have to change him. England 24/0 3rd Over: Nehra to bowl to Roy. SIX. Now Roy gets on the act. England have rocketed to 30/0. 4th Over: As expected Bumrah has been replaced by Yuzvendra Chahal. Roy hits him for a SIX, this is BIG. OUT, Roy dismissed. Chahal does it for India. England 42/1. Root walks in. Chahal gets another one - Billings OUT. India strike back. England 43/2 5th Over: Yuzvendra Chahal is back in the attack. England's new pair - Root & Morgan will take on the run chase now. This is crunch time for both teams. Both are now playing him cautiously. Just 2 runs from the over. After 10 overs England is 79/2. Morgan & Root holding the fort for England. India desperate to get a handle in the match with wickets. 11th Over: Pandya bowls to Root, great over, just 6 runs conceded. This is interesting stuff, the match is on a knife's edge. Stay tuned for more. 12th Over: Raina bought into the attack, can he get a wicket for India? Morgan hits him for SIX, India feeling the heat now. England 92/1. Another single England reach 93/1. India is set to take on a resurgent England team in the first T20 match at Greenpark, Kanpur today. Eoin Morgan led from the front in the final ODI at Eden Gardens, Kolkata to deny India an ODI series whitewash. England might be underdogs but Virat's men cannot afford to take them lightly because they were the finalists in the World T20 less than a year ago which was hosted in India. Virat Kohli has a few combinations to work on, first is the opening conundrum - should he open, or is Raina a good deal? Maybe even KL Rahul - the captain must decide. The death overs has always been India's Achilles heal, Parvez Rasool's off-breaks could come in handy for India today, he along with Bumrah can probably cool Virat's nerves. The captain and the coach have to strategise together. Statistically speaking, India is ranked 2nd in the ICC T20 rankings and England is ranked 5th. Interestingly, England leads India in T20s, the visitors have won 5 matches, India has managed to beat the English just thrice. Kanpur promises a riveting encounter, the weather is perfect for the game at 27 degrees with no possibility of rain. The game starts at 4:30(India standard time) WATCH OUT FOR LIVE ACTION. England win toss, elect to bowl India: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Parvez Rasool, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah England: Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid 1st Over: So we have a surprise early onVirat Kohli will open with Rahul. This is exciting, the Indian captain has decided to take the bull by the horn and lead from the front.Tymal Mills to begin the first over. Just the third ball and Kohli hits the ball for a boundary, whoosh back of a length ball gone. Fifth ball now Rahul gets on the act, another boundary. India is on the way. Run feast ahead... India 9/0 2nd Over: Chris Jordan starts the new over, the Indian captain plays and misses a few times. Another boundary by #Virat Kohli. It is a special day today as India celebrates its #68th #Republic Day. Will Kohli give us a #RepublicDay gift, will find out. India 16/0 3rd Over: Mills finishes the over without much fireworks, he is holding one end up. 4th over: Plunkett now introduced into the attack, will Kohli take him on? First ball boundary, second ball boundary...this is BIG. The Indian captain is leading from the front, India rockets to 30/0. India takes 10 from the over. Virat Kohli has given India a flying start (AFP) × 5th over: Jordan to start the new over, can he provide the breakthrough? Out, he get Rahul, ball directed at the body, Rahul plays it, easily caught. India lose their first wicket. Raina comes in 6th over: Raina hammers Plunkett for a boundary. Another boundary, so Raina has started with a bang...Virat and Raina can really explode here, England better watch out. India - 47/1 Virat Kohli made it back in the nick of time to watch his hero's hero, Federer win the semi finals#IndvsEng — Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 26, 2017 × 7th Over: Surprise, surprise Moeen Ali introduced into the attack, this could be a real masterstroke. First ball - Virat Out. Caught at midwicket. This is a big one. A real genius move from Morgan to bring on Ali. Yuvraj comes in. India is now 55/2. 8th Over: Stokes back in the attack. Both players are relatively new at the crease, taking it easy. Yuvraj trying to settle down. Last ball, Raina whacks it for a boundary. India holding ground but England is keeping a lid on India. The old hunting pair is back @msdhoni and @ImRaina Hope we get a big total and they both remain not out.#IndvsEng — Shubham Kothari (@Shubhammsd7ftd) January 26, 2017 × 9th Over: Moeen Ali to continue. Yuvraj and Raina are busy taking singles and mixing it up with boundaries. Another boundary by Yuvraj. India motors along 75/2. 10th Over: Yuvraj Out. Plunkett strikes. Top edge lands in Rashid's hand, this after Yuvraj just got the benefit of the doubt in the last ball. India continues to lose wickets. Dhoni is in now. India 82/3. Raina hammers another one to the boundary. It's India's #RepublicDay. It is natural for Pakistan and England to fumble in the field. #AusvPak #IndvsEng — Sagar (@sagarcasm) January 26, 2017 × 11th Over: #Suresh Raina has to hold the ground along with India's former T20 captain Dhoni. Ali continues to bowl, India is negotiating him carefully. Ali concedes just 7runs. India 88/3. 12th Over: #Raina OUT. He is bowled by Stokes. India 98/4. Indian wickets are tumbling here at Kanpur. England is doing the right thing, taking wickets and keeping India pegged back. 13th Over: Another Indian wicket falls, this time it is Manish Pandey. Ali is the star, he has taken 2 vital wickets. India 103/5. India now desperately needs a partnership. 14th Over: Plunkett to continue. Jadhav faces him. India is on the backfoot now. Dhoni and Pandya have to hold the fort for India now. India 105/5. 16th Over: Mills gets Pandya, England is really shaking up India here! India is 122/6 now. India pegged back now. The hosts would be lucky to reach 160. 18th Over: #Rasool & #Dhoni at the crease. India has managed just 132 for the loss of 6 wickets. Mills is keeping it tight. India's last boundary came in the 15th over, so they are being really strangled here! 19th Over: Just 7 runs from this over, India is now depending on Dhoni to push India towards 150. The last over coming up. 20th Over: First ball - Dhoni dropped, this could prove costly. Jordan bowls another one, boundary and another one. Consecutive boundaries, Dhoni is the man, ice cool. Out, Rasool is Run-Out. Wasted effort in the last over. India manage two runs off the last ball. 147/7, just below par but a good fight to get there! England need 148 runs to win

T-20: England beat India by 7 wickets

The government today released the list&nbsp;of Padma award winners - one of the highest civilian awards of the country. &nbsp;The awards are given in various fields of activities from art, social work to public affairs,&nbsp;science and engineering, trade,&nbsp;industry, medicine, literature,&nbsp;education and&nbsp;sports.&nbsp;

The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service,&nbsp;the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards will announced formally on the occasion of Republic Day tomorrow. The awards are conferred by the President Pranab Mukherjee&nbsp;at a ceremonial function&nbsp;which is&nbsp;held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March every year.&nbsp;

This year President Pranab Mukherjee&nbsp;has approved conferment of Padma Awards to eighty-nine&nbsp;persons. The list comprises of seven&nbsp;Padma Vibhushan, seven&nbsp;Padma Bhushan and seventy-five&nbsp;Padma Shri awardees. There are nineteen&nbsp;women in the list which includes five persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and six posthumous awardees.

Noted singer K J Yesudas has been selected for Padma Vibhushan, India&#39;s second highest civilian award but big names from Indian film industry did not feature in the list that was announced today.

Musicians and singers were given preference this year with Grammy-winning musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt being named for Padma Bhushan while singer Kailash Kher and Anuradha Paudwal were named for Padma Shri.

The focus of this year&#39;s Padma awards, according to the officials in the Home Ministry, was on recognising talent of unknown and unsung heroes of the country.

Yesudas, who has a record contribution of more than 50,000 film songs in various languages, including his mother tongue Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali and Hindi, has already been a recipient of the Padma Shri (1975) and the Padma Bhushan (2002).

The singer, 77, has made many songs memorable with his mellifluous voice, but for Hindi cinema music fans he is best known for songs like &#39;Jab Deep Jaale Aaana&#39;, &#39;Gori Tera Gaon&#39; and &#39;Surmai Ankhiyon Mein&#39; from &quot;Chitchor&quot; and &quot;Sadma&quot;. Bhatt, who is credited with the creation of the &#39;Mohan Veena&#39;, is a former disciple of Pt Ravi Shankar. The musician is one of the most recognised names in Indian classical music scene.

Kher, known for his earthy-sufi voice, said it was an &quot;overwhelming&quot; moment for him to be recognised by his country. &quot;Thank you to my nation for this honour. I am overwhelmed. I am sure my parents, who are no longer with me, are smiling down at me with pride. This honour is possible beacause of the prayers of my well-wishers and the blessings of my gurus,&quot; a grateful Kher said.

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who has been named for Padma Shri, said it is great to be acknowledged for an &quot;unconventional&quot; field. &quot;The feeling of winning a Padma award is fantastic. 2017 has started on a great note for me. But with the award comes a bigger sense of responsibility and pressure. To acknowledge people who are not from mainstream is a great trend and I hope it continues. I am happy that it is given to someone from a field as unconventional as culinary,&quot; the Padma Shri winner said.

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(WION with PTI inputs)

This year President Pranab Mukherjee has approved conferment of Padma awards to eighty-nine persons

The government today released the list of Padma award winners - one of the highest civilian awards of the country. The awards are given in various fields of activities from art, social work to public affairs, science and engineering, trade, industry, medicine, literature, education and sports. The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards will announced formally on the occasion of Republic Day tomorrow. The awards are conferred by the President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremonial function which is held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March every year. This year President Pranab Mukherjee has approved conferment of Padma Awards to eighty-nine persons. The list comprises of seven Padma Vibhushan, seven Padma Bhushan and seventy-five Padma Shri awardees. There are nineteen women in the list which includes five persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and six posthumous awardees. Noted singer K J Yesudas has been selected for Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award but big names from Indian film industry did not feature in the list that was announced today. Musicians and singers were given preference this year with Grammy-winning musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt being named for Padma Bhushan while singer Kailash Kher and Anuradha Paudwal were named for Padma Shri. The focus of this year's Padma awards, according to the officials in the Home Ministry, was on recognising talent of unknown and unsung heroes of the country. Yesudas, who has a record contribution of more than 50,000 film songs in various languages, including his mother tongue Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali and Hindi, has already been a recipient of the Padma Shri (1975) and the Padma Bhushan (2002). The singer, 77, has made many songs memorable with his mellifluous voice, but for Hindi cinema music fans he is best known for songs like 'Jab Deep Jaale Aaana', 'Gori Tera Gaon' and 'Surmai Ankhiyon Mein' from "Chitchor" and "Sadma". Bhatt, who is credited with the creation of the 'Mohan Veena', is a former disciple of Pt Ravi Shankar. The musician is one of the most recognised names in Indian classical music scene. Kher, known for his earthy-sufi voice, said it was an "overwhelming" moment for him to be recognised by his country. "Thank you to my nation for this honour. I am overwhelmed. I am sure my parents, who are no longer with me, are smiling down at me with pride. This honour is possible beacause of the prayers of my well-wishers and the blessings of my gurus," a grateful Kher said. Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who has been named for Padma Shri, said it is great to be acknowledged for an "unconventional" field. "The feeling of winning a Padma award is fantastic. 2017 has started on a great note for me. But with the award comes a bigger sense of responsibility and pressure. To acknowledge people who are not from mainstream is a great trend and I hope it continues. I am happy that it is given to someone from a field as unconventional as culinary," the Padma Shri winner said. Padma Vibhushan. (Image source: Ministry of Home Affairs) (Others) × Padma Bhushan. (Image Source: Ministry of Home Affairs) (Others) × Padma Shri. (Image Source: Ministry of Home Affairs) (Others) × Padma Shri. (Image Source: Ministry of Home Affairs) (Others) × (WION with PTI inputs)

Virat Kohli wins Padma Shri, Sharad Pawar, Murli Manohar Joshi win Padma Vibushan

India&#39;s premier spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested for the three-match Twenty20 series against England starting this week.

The selectors have recalled veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra and off-spinner Parvez Rasool in the 15-man squad, according to the&nbsp;Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The Virat Kohli-led side, which won the three-match one-day international series 2-1, moves into the shortest format with the first game scheduled in Kanpur on January 26.

Ashwin and Jadeja shared seven wickets between them in the three 50-over matches, bowling tighter lines than the fast bowlers on run-filled pitches.

The 34-year-old Mishra was in the ODI squad against England but failed to make it to the starting lineup. He finished with figures of 5-18 in his last outing for his country, an ODI against New Zealand in October.

Meanwhile, Rasool, 27, who represented India in just one ODI in 2014, joins the squad riding on his excellent domestic showing in the Ranji Trophy competition.

India squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mandeep Singh.

(AFP)

The selectors have recalled veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra and off-spinner Parvez Rasool in the 15-man squad, according to BCCI

India's premier spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested for the three-match Twenty20 series against England starting this week. The selectors have recalled veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra and off-spinner Parvez Rasool in the 15-man squad, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Virat Kohli-led side, which won the three-match one-day international series 2-1, moves into the shortest format with the first game scheduled in Kanpur on January 26. Ashwin and Jadeja shared seven wickets between them in the three 50-over matches, bowling tighter lines than the fast bowlers on run-filled pitches. The 34-year-old Mishra was in the ODI squad against England but failed to make it to the starting lineup. He finished with figures of 5-18 in his last outing for his country, an ODI against New Zealand in October. Meanwhile, Rasool, 27, who represented India in just one ODI in 2014, joins the squad riding on his excellent domestic showing in the Ranji Trophy competition. India squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mandeep Singh. (AFP)

India rest spinners Ashwin, Jadeja for England T20s

Indian captain Virat Kohli has heaped praise on his young teammate Kedar Jadhav for his &quot;outstanding&quot; knock of 76-ball 120 in the first ODI against England, describing it as one of the best calculative innings he had seen.

Kohli (122 off 105 balls) and Jadhav, whose 120 was his career-best, smashed superlative hundreds to help India chase down the stiff target of 351 for a three-wicket win in the first of the three-match ODI series.

&quot;One word for it is outstanding. Jadhav put a lot of pressure on the spinners. It was one of the best calculative innings I have seen, 150 strike rate was outstanding. Some of the shots he played, he told me it was instinctive. I could not believe it,&quot; Kohli said.

Kohli and Jadhav rattled up a sensational 200-run partnership for the fifth wicket to set up the platform for the win. Jadhav struck 12 fours and four sixes in his aggressive innings of over 150 strike rate.&nbsp;

&quot;Just to have another guy who is willing to do from any situation, to keep pushing, knew how exactly to bat on this pitch which was even better to bat on in the second innings. His shots were all clean, not slogs, and that&#39;s way to bat at number 6. I was glad to be there with him,&quot; gushed Kohli.

Kohli, for whom it was his first day in office as India captain in all three formats of the game, said Jadhav was disheartened that he could not get the team past the victory line against New Zealand in the previous ODI series. &quot;He was disheartened versus New Zealand that he could not get the team across the line. I told him there was no point thinking what you could have done and told him to keep pushing hard,&quot; said Kohli.

Asked how he and Jadhav tackled what looked like a hopeless situation with four top batsmen back in the hut for a mere 63 runs in the 12th over, Kohli said they decided to counter-punch their way.

&quot;We spoke about how to tackle that situation and decided the best way was to&nbsp;counter-attack. No wickets had been lost to good balls, we committed errors and the wicket was better to bat in the second innings. The ball travels very very far. We could hit sixes to put pressure on the opposition. It&#39;s one of the best partnerships I have been part of. We have chased 350 before but not from 63/4,&quot; said the captain.

&quot;We believed in the Test series we could win from any situation. This was the same,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

(PTI)

Virat Kohli praised Kedar Jadhav for his outstanding knock of 76-ball 120 in the first ODI against England

Indian captain Virat Kohli has heaped praise on his young teammate Kedar Jadhav for his "outstanding" knock of 76-ball 120 in the first ODI against England, describing it as one of the best calculative innings he had seen. Kohli (122 off 105 balls) and Jadhav, whose 120 was his career-best, smashed superlative hundreds to help India chase down the stiff target of 351 for a three-wicket win in the first of the three-match ODI series. "One word for it is outstanding. Jadhav put a lot of pressure on the spinners. It was one of the best calculative innings I have seen, 150 strike rate was outstanding. Some of the shots he played, he told me it was instinctive. I could not believe it," Kohli said. Kohli and Jadhav rattled up a sensational 200-run partnership for the fifth wicket to set up the platform for the win. Jadhav struck 12 fours and four sixes in his aggressive innings of over 150 strike rate. "Just to have another guy who is willing to do from any situation, to keep pushing, knew how exactly to bat on this pitch which was even better to bat on in the second innings. His shots were all clean, not slogs, and that's way to bat at number 6. I was glad to be there with him," gushed Kohli. Kohli, for whom it was his first day in office as India captain in all three formats of the game, said Jadhav was disheartened that he could not get the team past the victory line against New Zealand in the previous ODI series. "He was disheartened versus New Zealand that he could not get the team across the line. I told him there was no point thinking what you could have done and told him to keep pushing hard," said Kohli. Asked how he and Jadhav tackled what looked like a hopeless situation with four top batsmen back in the hut for a mere 63 runs in the 12th over, Kohli said they decided to counter-punch their way. "We spoke about how to tackle that situation and decided the best way was to counter-attack. No wickets had been lost to good balls, we committed errors and the wicket was better to bat in the second innings. The ball travels very very far. We could hit sixes to put pressure on the opposition. It's one of the best partnerships I have been part of. We have chased 350 before but not from 63/4," said the captain. "We believed in the Test series we could win from any situation. This was the same," he added. (PTI)

Jadhav's knock one of the best: Virat Kohli

Skipper Virat Kohli smashed a majestic 122 while Kedar Jadhav conjured up a career-best 120 before India&#39;s lower middle-order held nerves to pull off an incredible three-wicket win over England in the first One-day International, here today. 
 
Kohli and Jadhav rattled up a sensational 200-run partnership for the fifth wicket to set up the platform after England set the hosts a stiff 351-run target. 
 
Chips were down for India after losing four wickets for just 63 runs but Kohli and Jadhav scripted a comeback with their gritty batting as Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) and Yuvraj Singh (15) could not contribute much in the chase. 
 
India required 60 runs from the last 10 overs after the fall of both Kohli and Jadhav but Hardik Pandya ensured that their good work does not go waste with his responsible unbeaten 40-run innings. 
 
Pandya saw Ravindra Jadeja losing his wicket in the 45th over but the young all-rounder kept his cool to steer India to the finish line. He hit a six off Adil Rashid to level the scores and R Ashwin finished it in style, hammering Moeen Ali into the stands in the first ball of the 49th over. 
 
India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the next match scheduled in Cuttack on January 19. 
 
England had feasted on a listless Indian bowling to pile up 350 for seven, their highest total in ODIs against India with Joe Root (78), opener Jason Roy (73) and Ben Stokes (62) striking half-centuries. 
 
The score bettered the 338 for eight made by England in the tied encounter of the 2011 World Cup in Bengaluru but today&#39;s effort proved insufficient. 
 
It was a new chapter for India with Kohli leading the side after being declared leader of the team in all three formats but the hosts had forgettable first 60 overs as they conceded 350 runs and lost quick wickets. 
 
KL Rahul (8), Shikhar Dhawan (1) and comeback-man Yuvraj were back in the pavillion and soon Dhoni joined them to leave India reeling at 63 for four. 
 
From here Kohli and Jadhav not only restructured the innings, they put India within the touching distance of win. 
 
Kohli&#39;s 122 came off just 105 balls with eight shots the fence and five over the ropes. It was Indian captain&#39;s 27th ODI hundred. 
 
Jadhav, who was cramping heavily in the later part of his innings, completed his hundred in 65 balls, which was fifth fastest hundred by an Indian. Overall he took 76 balls for 120 which had 12 fours and four sixes. 
 
India lost Jadeja in the 45th over but there was no more drama with Pandya staying till the end. His 40 came off 37 with three fours and six.

(PTI)

India were reeling at 63 for four, before going on to win with eight balls to spare

Skipper Virat Kohli smashed a majestic 122 while Kedar Jadhav conjured up a career-best 120 before India's lower middle-order held nerves to pull off an incredible three-wicket win over England in the first One-day International, here today. Kohli and Jadhav rattled up a sensational 200-run partnership for the fifth wicket to set up the platform after England set the hosts a stiff 351-run target. Chips were down for India after losing four wickets for just 63 runs but Kohli and Jadhav scripted a comeback with their gritty batting as Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) and Yuvraj Singh (15) could not contribute much in the chase. India required 60 runs from the last 10 overs after the fall of both Kohli and Jadhav but Hardik Pandya ensured that their good work does not go waste with his responsible unbeaten 40-run innings. Pandya saw Ravindra Jadeja losing his wicket in the 45th over but the young all-rounder kept his cool to steer India to the finish line. He hit a six off Adil Rashid to level the scores and R Ashwin finished it in style, hammering Moeen Ali into the stands in the first ball of the 49th over. India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the next match scheduled in Cuttack on January 19. England had feasted on a listless Indian bowling to pile up 350 for seven, their highest total in ODIs against India with Joe Root (78), opener Jason Roy (73) and Ben Stokes (62) striking half-centuries. The score bettered the 338 for eight made by England in the tied encounter of the 2011 World Cup in Bengaluru but today's effort proved insufficient. It was a new chapter for India with Kohli leading the side after being declared leader of the team in all three formats but the hosts had forgettable first 60 overs as they conceded 350 runs and lost quick wickets. KL Rahul (8), Shikhar Dhawan (1) and comeback-man Yuvraj were back in the pavillion and soon Dhoni joined them to leave India reeling at 63 for four. From here Kohli and Jadhav not only restructured the innings, they put India within the touching distance of win. Kohli's 122 came off just 105 balls with eight shots the fence and five over the ropes. It was Indian captain's 27th ODI hundred. Jadhav, who was cramping heavily in the later part of his innings, completed his hundred in 65 balls, which was fifth fastest hundred by an Indian. Overall he took 76 balls for 120 which had 12 fours and four sixes. India lost Jadeja in the 45th over but there was no more drama with Pandya staying till the end. His 40 came off 37 with three fours and six. (PTI)

Kedar & Virat chase down England's 350, both score centuries

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, widely seen as Indian cricket&#39;s best captain, said on Friday the team would do even better under his replacement, Virat Kohli, days ahead of a limited-overs clash with England.

Kohli had a squad of young players and fast bowlers that could produce an unprecedented run of wins, Dhoni said in his first comments to the media since stepping aside from captaining the limited-overs side earlier this month.

Kohli took over, becoming the skipper in all three formats of the game.

&quot;You look at the kind of talent they have got and at the same time the age group they are in,&quot; Dhoni told reporters in Pune, where the hosts will meet England in the first of the three one-day international series on Sunday.

&quot;If everything goes well they have the potential to plan for the next 10-12 years if not more ... We have a pool of fast bowlers who can bowl well in any conditions.&quot;

Dhoni rose from the cricketing backwaters of India&#39;s Jharkhand to lead the game&#39;s most passionately followed team, before quitting test cricket in late 2014.

The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has captained India to the three International Cricket Council trophies - the 50-over World Cup, the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy.

&quot;This team has the potential to do well in all formats irrespective of where we are playing ... When it comes to winning games, they should win games more than any other captain or team has won,&quot; Dhoni said.

Dhoni said he never believed in multiple captains and he had made up his mind long back to hand over the reins to Kohli, who replaced him as test captain earlier.

&quot;I am somebody who believes... split captaincy is something that doesn&#39;t really work,&quot; Dhoni said. &quot;I always believed that with the Indian team, one player leading the team in all formats is something very crucial.

&quot;It was something that was always in my mind. Virat took over the test captaincy and I wanted him to have some time over there and then get into the full captaincy role. He was always ready.&quot;

India is already the world&#39;s top-ranked test side, second in the shortest Twenty20 format and third in the 50-over version of the game.

(Reuters)

Kohli took over from Dhoni, becoming the skipper in all three formats of the game

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, widely seen as Indian cricket's best captain, said on Friday the team would do even better under his replacement, Virat Kohli, days ahead of a limited-overs clash with England. Kohli had a squad of young players and fast bowlers that could produce an unprecedented run of wins, Dhoni said in his first comments to the media since stepping aside from captaining the limited-overs side earlier this month. Kohli took over, becoming the skipper in all three formats of the game. "You look at the kind of talent they have got and at the same time the age group they are in," Dhoni told reporters in Pune, where the hosts will meet England in the first of the three one-day international series on Sunday. "If everything goes well they have the potential to plan for the next 10-12 years if not more ... We have a pool of fast bowlers who can bowl well in any conditions." Dhoni rose from the cricketing backwaters of India's Jharkhand to lead the game's most passionately followed team, before quitting test cricket in late 2014. The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has captained India to the three International Cricket Council trophies - the 50-over World Cup, the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy. "This team has the potential to do well in all formats irrespective of where we are playing ... When it comes to winning games, they should win games more than any other captain or team has won," Dhoni said. Dhoni said he never believed in multiple captains and he had made up his mind long back to hand over the reins to Kohli, who replaced him as test captain earlier. "I am somebody who believes... split captaincy is something that doesn't really work," Dhoni said. "I always believed that with the Indian team, one player leading the team in all formats is something very crucial. "It was something that was always in my mind. Virat took over the test captaincy and I wanted him to have some time over there and then get into the full captaincy role. He was always ready." India is already the world's top-ranked test side, second in the shortest Twenty20 format and third in the 50-over version of the game. (Reuters)

Team would do even better under Kohli: Former Indian captain Dhoni

Dr Tharoor called Dhoni&#39;s decision to pass on the reins&nbsp;&quot;admirable&quot;, and praised his style. Dhoni&#39;s surprise retirement as the Indian cricket ODI and T20 captain came just a day before he was to sit down with&nbsp;selectors to pick the team for the forthcoming series against England. The responsibility of leading the team now falls&nbsp;on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli.

&nbsp;

Read the interview here:

JT: MS Dhoni&nbsp;has never lived by the conventional rules of Indian cricket. You would expect India&#39;s greatest captain to go out with fanfare. But not him?

Dr Shashi Tharoor:&nbsp;He has got this abrupt departure style which is somewhat surprising in the case of the Test match resignation. I was actually disappointed. Even a bit angry, because I felt it was almost a betrayal to leave a tour that you&#39;re captaining the side before the final Test of the tour and announce that you&#39;re not playing anymore; that simply to my mind was bad form.&nbsp;But&nbsp;this announcement, on the other hand, was admirable because he was essentially saying,&nbsp;I am not going to leave it too late, one day I have to give&nbsp;up the captaincy. I&#39;ll do it on my own terms and I&#39;ll do it now&nbsp;when&nbsp;Kohli has been leading the squad, so&nbsp;why&nbsp;prevent him from assuming his natural place.&nbsp;That&nbsp;was a rather impressive decision which obviously could have been done in a more, shall we say, more theatrical way with more fanfare but&nbsp;that isn&#39;t Mr Dhoni&#39;s style.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

JT: The question everyone seems to be asking is, was this the right time?&nbsp;There is a series coming up against England and this could prove to be a distraction...

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;I think that the right time&nbsp;for any sportsman is the time inside his head when he decides he should go. We&#39;ve seen a few predictable decisions, we&#39;ve seen some surprising decisions and we&#39;ve seen some delayed decisions.&nbsp;If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he&#39;s averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that.&nbsp;

 
JT: The numbers don&#39;t lie. This was a man who led from the front. The World Cup final against Sri Lanka is a case in point. Yet his captaincy style was unconventional?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Dhoni was always a better captain in short formats than the Test match. It&#39;s because in the test matches you often felt that he was switching on to autopilot. In T20s, because he only had 20 overs to play with,&nbsp;I thought he was much more on the ball, and in 50 overs also he did enough interesting things. But you know a time comes after a while he&#39;s been captain for a 199 matches, a time comes after all when somebody says, look, I&#39;ve been there done that, let somebody else have a go. Certainly Virat Kohli is switched on all the time in a way that perhaps a veteran captain doesn&#39;t quite feel the need to be in the same way. It may not be a bad time right now to make that switch.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he&#39;s averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that.&nbsp;</h5>
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JT: Talking about the unconventional approach, this was a man who turned to Joginder Sharma in the world T20, dropped Ashwin for the world cup final. The list is endless. Perhaps there could be a comparison with Sourav Ganguly but Dhoni was his own man?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Dhoni was certainly his own man, some of his choices were pure instinct and there&#39;s no rational explanation for any of them. I think the Joginder Singh example is very interesting because Harbhajan still had an over left&nbsp;but Dhoni just felt that&nbsp;the way Misbah [Pak cricketer]&nbsp;was batting he was&nbsp;he would think the off-spinner into the grounds and he needed the effort to put somebody who can put some more pace in the ball. But that was an instinctive and a surprising bet. If you remember that after that Joginder Singh hardly ever played for India again, it suggests that you&#39;re looking at somebody who in many ways not only defied conventional wisdom but did it in the moment and for the moment. that kind of instinctive captaincy is unusual, it&#39;s also impossible to analyse beyond a particular point and it becomes extremely difficult to replicate. Kohli has his own instincts, he&#39;s made some surprising decisions even during the recent test series against England. Some of his more unexpected bowling changes which went against the advice of the commentators during those matches... were the ones that got wickets and now we&#39;ll look for Mr Kohli&#39;s unexpected changes as captain.&nbsp;

 
JT: What for you has been the defining moment in Dhoni&#39;s tenure as captain. Under him India achieved it all, the World T20 win, the World number&nbsp;one&nbsp;ranking in Tests and the ICC Champions Trophy?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Dhoni undoubtedly took Indian cricket to heights that hadn&#39;t been known even during the glory days of Saurav Ganguly. Now Saurav as captain had some remarkable victories, most famously&nbsp;the time he stripped off his T-shirt at Lords when his team came from behind with an unexpected victory. But what Dhoni did in accomplishing titles that no previous captain had done since the World Cup in 1983, the T20 we won the very inaugural one and so on. So there were remarkable accomplishments and there were also losses. When somebody leaves we only remember his triumphs and that&#39;s how it should be. Just as obituaries never speak ill of the dead, departing test captains are rarely pilloried. But Dhoni also had setbacks and defeats, we never won another world T20 title, did we, after 2007, until we came up with some other good victories. But we lost a lot of tournaments much earlier and certainly we&#39;ve had setbacks also under Dhoni. So I don&#39;t want to imply that everything was great, but he has more victories than defeats and he was somebody who very often was responsible for those victories himself.

Some of his extraordinary performances coming in at number&nbsp;5 or 6 in an ODI lineup and hitting the winning runs will often stay etched in the memory and there was a feeling that as long as Dhoni was at the crease, almost any target in the last over was not impossible. Increasingly he&#39;s also had occasions when he&#39;s failed to hit that target but very very often he did it, and I think that is his individual stamp on his captaincy success.&nbsp;

 
JT: Where would you rate him in the pantheon of India&#39;s cricketing captains?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;I&#39;d say Dhoni was undoubtedly in the very top bracket, partly because you know we&#39;ve had only&nbsp;a handful of captains who&#39;ve got any significant success record, and that too in relatively recent years. Most of our captains right up to the 90s had more failures than successes. Gavaskar had one great success as captain which was the world championship of cricket in Australia, Kapil dev had one great success which was the world cup in 1983. But otherwise all our captains till the 90&#39;s including Tendulkar who ended the 90s as captain had more failures than victories. It&#39;s really a handful of captains all in the 21st century who&#39;ve seen a significant record of success and of that I would say Dhoni stands so far very near the top. Obviously, Kohli has begun with a higher percentage of success than either dhoni or Kumble or Ganguly or obviously any of their predecessors. But right now I&nbsp;would say Dhoni is at the very top if you look back at great Indian captains.&nbsp;

 
JT: He has retired from Tests and now given up the captaincy. The end of MS Dhoni as a cricketer is near. How badly will he be missed?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Every great cricketer is missed for a very short time,&nbsp;then the game moves on. That is inevitable,&nbsp;that&#39;s simply how it is. Sport is a career which offers you a very short lifespan. If you want to be remembered for a long time become a politician, because as a cricketer you will be remembered fondly by people who saw you in your prime, but a younger generation will find new heroes. Many of us may&nbsp;worshiped Tendulkar, people called him god.&nbsp;But there are lots of people today who think of Kohli when they think of a great Indian batsman. Gavaskar&nbsp;seemed to be of a greatness and could never be equaled,&nbsp;then Tendulkar eclipsed him. Maybe Kohli will eclipse Tendulkar and as far as captaincy is concerned somebody will come along to eclipse Dhoni and may be one day Kohli.

Just today as we are speaking of this 17-year-old teenage prodigy, Prithvi Shaw, has hit a century for Mumbai and taken them into the Ranji trophy finals. It gladdens one&#39;s heart when a new star is born like this, a prodigy. But the fact is that somebody&#39;s gonna have to be displaced if one day as a bright young man he burst into the Indian team, it will be at the expense of somebody else who hasn&#39;t done badly. That&#39;s life. Karun Nayyar got his 303, how does Ajinkya Rahane come back in? There&#39;ll always be people of great accomplishment who will not be forgotten, but will have to make way for others. So Dhoni making way is simply the existing normal narrative of any cricketer&#39;s life and story.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Watch this video to hear Dr Tharoor describe the future of Indian cricket.

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After Dhoni&#39;s unpredictable retirement as the Indian Cricket ODI and T20 captain, the responsibility of leading the team now goes on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli. WION&#39;s Jessica Taneja speaks to Congress MP and cricket enthusiast Shashi Tharoor (WION)
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&nbsp;

(WION)

We spoke to the Congress MP and cricket enthusiast about India's most successful cricket captain MS Dhoni

Dr Tharoor called Dhoni's decision to pass on the reins "admirable", and praised his style. Dhoni's surprise retirement as the Indian cricket ODI and T20 captain came just a day before he was to sit down with selectors to pick the team for the forthcoming series against England. The responsibility of leading the team now falls on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli. Read the interview here: JT: MS Dhoni has never lived by the conventional rules of Indian cricket. You would expect India's greatest captain to go out with fanfare. But not him? Dr Shashi Tharoor: He has got this abrupt departure style which is somewhat surprising in the case of the Test match resignation. I was actually disappointed. Even a bit angry, because I felt it was almost a betrayal to leave a tour that you're captaining the side before the final Test of the tour and announce that you're not playing anymore; that simply to my mind was bad form. But this announcement, on the other hand, was admirable because he was essentially saying, I am not going to leave it too late, one day I have to give up the captaincy. I'll do it on my own terms and I'll do it now when Kohli has been leading the squad, so why prevent him from assuming his natural place. That was a rather impressive decision which obviously could have been done in a more, shall we say, more theatrical way with more fanfare but that isn't Mr Dhoni's style. JT: The question everyone seems to be asking is, was this the right time? There is a series coming up against England and this could prove to be a distraction... Dr Tharoor: I think that the right time for any sportsman is the time inside his head when he decides he should go. We've seen a few predictable decisions, we've seen some surprising decisions and we've seen some delayed decisions. If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he's averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that. JT: The numbers don't lie. This was a man who led from the front. The World Cup final against Sri Lanka is a case in point. Yet his captaincy style was unconventional? Dr Tharoor: Dhoni was always a better captain in short formats than the Test match. It's because in the test matches you often felt that he was switching on to autopilot. In T20s, because he only had 20 overs to play with, I thought he was much more on the ball, and in 50 overs also he did enough interesting things. But you know a time comes after a while he's been captain for a 199 matches, a time comes after all when somebody says, look, I've been there done that, let somebody else have a go. Certainly Virat Kohli is switched on all the time in a way that perhaps a veteran captain doesn't quite feel the need to be in the same way. It may not be a bad time right now to make that switch. If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he's averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that. × JT: Talking about the unconventional approach, this was a man who turned to Joginder Sharma in the world T20, dropped Ashwin for the world cup final. The list is endless. Perhaps there could be a comparison with Sourav Ganguly but Dhoni was his own man? Dr Tharoor: Dhoni was certainly his own man, some of his choices were pure instinct and there's no rational explanation for any of them. I think the Joginder Singh example is very interesting because Harbhajan still had an over left but Dhoni just felt that the way Misbah [Pak cricketer] was batting he was he would think the off-spinner into the grounds and he needed the effort to put somebody who can put some more pace in the ball. But that was an instinctive and a surprising bet. If you remember that after that Joginder Singh hardly ever played for India again, it suggests that you're looking at somebody who in many ways not only defied conventional wisdom but did it in the moment and for the moment. that kind of instinctive captaincy is unusual, it's also impossible to analyse beyond a particular point and it becomes extremely difficult to replicate. Kohli has his own instincts, he's made some surprising decisions even during the recent test series against England. Some of his more unexpected bowling changes which went against the advice of the commentators during those matches... were the ones that got wickets and now we'll look for Mr Kohli's unexpected changes as captain. JT: What for you has been the defining moment in Dhoni's tenure as captain. Under him India achieved it all, the World T20 win, the World number one ranking in Tests and the ICC Champions Trophy? Dr Tharoor: Dhoni undoubtedly took Indian cricket to heights that hadn't been known even during the glory days of Saurav Ganguly. Now Saurav as captain had some remarkable victories, most famously the time he stripped off his T-shirt at Lords when his team came from behind with an unexpected victory. But what Dhoni did in accomplishing titles that no previous captain had done since the World Cup in 1983, the T20 we won the very inaugural one and so on. So there were remarkable accomplishments and there were also losses. When somebody leaves we only remember his triumphs and that's how it should be. Just as obituaries never speak ill of the dead, departing test captains are rarely pilloried. But Dhoni also had setbacks and defeats, we never won another world T20 title, did we, after 2007, until we came up with some other good victories. But we lost a lot of tournaments much earlier and certainly we've had setbacks also under Dhoni. So I don't want to imply that everything was great, but he has more victories than defeats and he was somebody who very often was responsible for those victories himself. Some of his extraordinary performances coming in at number 5 or 6 in an ODI lineup and hitting the winning runs will often stay etched in the memory and there was a feeling that as long as Dhoni was at the crease, almost any target in the last over was not impossible. Increasingly he's also had occasions when he's failed to hit that target but very very often he did it, and I think that is his individual stamp on his captaincy success. JT: Where would you rate him in the pantheon of India's cricketing captains? Dr Tharoor: I'd say Dhoni was undoubtedly in the very top bracket, partly because you know we've had only a handful of captains who've got any significant success record, and that too in relatively recent years. Most of our captains right up to the 90s had more failures than successes. Gavaskar had one great success as captain which was the world championship of cricket in Australia, Kapil dev had one great success which was the world cup in 1983. But otherwise all our captains till the 90's including Tendulkar who ended the 90s as captain had more failures than victories. It's really a handful of captains all in the 21st century who've seen a significant record of success and of that I would say Dhoni stands so far very near the top. Obviously, Kohli has begun with a higher percentage of success than either dhoni or Kumble or Ganguly or obviously any of their predecessors. But right now I would say Dhoni is at the very top if you look back at great Indian captains. JT: He has retired from Tests and now given up the captaincy. The end of MS Dhoni as a cricketer is near. How badly will he be missed? Dr Tharoor: Every great cricketer is missed for a very short time, then the game moves on. That is inevitable, that's simply how it is. Sport is a career which offers you a very short lifespan. If you want to be remembered for a long time become a politician, because as a cricketer you will be remembered fondly by people who saw you in your prime, but a younger generation will find new heroes. Many of us may worshiped Tendulkar, people called him god. But there are lots of people today who think of Kohli when they think of a great Indian batsman. Gavaskar seemed to be of a greatness and could never be equaled, then Tendulkar eclipsed him. Maybe Kohli will eclipse Tendulkar and as far as captaincy is concerned somebody will come along to eclipse Dhoni and may be one day Kohli. Just today as we are speaking of this 17-year-old teenage prodigy, Prithvi Shaw, has hit a century for Mumbai and taken them into the Ranji trophy finals. It gladdens one's heart when a new star is born like this, a prodigy. But the fact is that somebody's gonna have to be displaced if one day as a bright young man he burst into the Indian team, it will be at the expense of somebody else who hasn't done badly. That's life. Karun Nayyar got his 303, how does Ajinkya Rahane come back in? There'll always be people of great accomplishment who will not be forgotten, but will have to make way for others. So Dhoni making way is simply the existing normal narrative of any cricketer's life and story. Watch this video to hear Dr Tharoor describe the future of Indian cricket. After Dhoni's unpredictable retirement as the Indian Cricket ODI and T20 captain, the responsibility of leading the team now goes on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli. WION's Jessica Taneja speaks to Congress MP and cricket enthusiast Shashi Tharoor (WION) × (WION)

EXCLUSIVE: Dr Shashi Tharoor speaks to WION's Jessica Taneja

&nbsp;

India&#39;s Test captain Virat Kohli has been named the skipper for the ODI, T-20 series against England starting on January 15.

Virat Kohli takes over from MS Dhoni who stepped down as Team India ODI, T-20 captain recently.

The BCCI also announced the Indian team for ODIs, T-20 series.

ODI team squad:

Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

T-20&nbsp;squad: 

Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra.

(Agencies)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

India's Virat Kohli has been named the ODI, T-20 skipper in the England series starting on January 15

India's Test captain Virat Kohli has been named the skipper for the ODI, T-20 series against England starting on January 15. Virat Kohli takes over from MS Dhoni who stepped down as Team India ODI, T-20 captain recently. The BCCI also announced the Indian team for ODIs, T-20 series. ODI team squad: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav. T-20 squad: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra. (Agencies)

Virat Kohli to lead Team India in ODIs, T-20

In a surprise move, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as limited overs captain of the Indian cricket team, thereby drawing the curtains to his glorious leadership career.

The BCCI today said in a statement that Dhoni has informed the Board that he wishes to step down as the captain of the Indian cricket team from the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20 Internationals.

While expressing his desire to quit captaincy, Dhoni however conveyed to the selection committee that he will be available for selection for the three ODIs and as many T20s against England starting January 15.

Commenting on Dhoni&#39;s sudden announcement, Rahul Johri, Chief Executive Officer of the BCCI said, &quot;On the behalf of every Indian cricket fan and the BCCI, I would like to thank MS Dhoni for his outstanding contribution as the captain of the Indian team across all formats. Under his leadership, the Indian team has touched new heights and his achievements will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian cricket.&quot;

Dhoni, 35, had earlier suddenly quit Test captaincy during the Australia tour in 2014 in Melbourne.

Dhoni has been India&#39;s most successful captain. Under his leadership India have won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the ICC ODI World Cup in 2011, ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and also reached the top of the Test rankings in 2009.

India&#39;s Test skipper Virat Kohli is likely to take over captaincy of the limited overs team following Dhoni&#39;s decision.

(PTI)

India's Test skipper Virat Kohli, already a legend in his own time, is likely to take over the captaincy

In a surprise move, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as limited overs captain of the Indian cricket team, thereby drawing the curtains to his glorious leadership career. The BCCI today said in a statement that Dhoni has informed the Board that he wishes to step down as the captain of the Indian cricket team from the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20 Internationals. While expressing his desire to quit captaincy, Dhoni however conveyed to the selection committee that he will be available for selection for the three ODIs and as many T20s against England starting January 15. Commenting on Dhoni's sudden announcement, Rahul Johri, Chief Executive Officer of the BCCI said, "On the behalf of every Indian cricket fan and the BCCI, I would like to thank MS Dhoni for his outstanding contribution as the captain of the Indian team across all formats. Under his leadership, the Indian team has touched new heights and his achievements will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian cricket." Dhoni, 35, had earlier suddenly quit Test captaincy during the Australia tour in 2014 in Melbourne. Dhoni has been India's most successful captain. Under his leadership India have won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the ICC ODI World Cup in 2011, ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and also reached the top of the Test rankings in 2009. India's Test skipper Virat Kohli is likely to take over captaincy of the limited overs team following Dhoni's decision. (PTI)

MS Dhoni steps down as India's limited overs captain

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its Test and ODI teams of the year 2016 on Thursday.

But for some reason, Virat Kohli, India&rsquo;s Test captain, who is on an 18-match unbeaten streak was omitted from the list of ICC Test team of the year.

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Here is the ICC Test Team of the Year 2016! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICCAwards?src=hash">#ICCAwards</a> <a href="https://t.co/TjqFeMn4MY">pic.twitter.com/TjqFeMn4MY</a>
&mdash; ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/811813662801399809">December 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Kohli recently led India to a 4-0 series win over England in a five-Test home series.

He was the man of the series by scoring 655 runs in the five Tests, at a whopping average of 109.16 with the&nbsp;highest score of 235.

He scored 1215 runs in 2016 in 12 Test at an average of 75.93, with four centuries and two half-centuries.

The only Indian in the line-up of the Test team is the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, with two of Kohli&rsquo;s closest competitors, Kane Williamson of New Zealand and Joe Root of England make it to the team.

However, Kohli makes it into the ODI team of the year, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma.

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Presenting the ICC ODI Team of the Year 2016! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICCAwards?src=hash">#ICCAwards</a> <a href="https://t.co/5rH3XozNIj">pic.twitter.com/5rH3XozNIj</a>
&mdash; ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/811816048534126593">December 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Warner and Starc are two cricketers who found a place in both the teams.

The Test team is selected on the basis of records between September 14, 2015, and September 20, 2016. Williamson had a great 2015, coming up with an average of 90.15 from 16 innings. While Kohli averages 42.66 off 15 innings in 2015, reports NDTV Sports.

ICC ODI team of the year 2016: Virat Kohli (captain), David Warner, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler, Mitchell Marsh, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Starc, Kagiso Rabada, Sunil Narine, Imran Tahir.

ICC Test team of the year 2016: Alastair Cook (captain), David Warner, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Adam Voges, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rangana Herath, Mitchell Starc, Dale Steyn, Steve Smith.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Kohli was omitted from the ICC Test team of the year but however, makes it into the ODI team of the year

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its Test and ODI teams of the year 2016 on Thursday. But for some reason, Virat Kohli, India’s Test captain, who is on an 18-match unbeaten streak was omitted from the list of ICC Test team of the year. Here is the ICC Test Team of the Year 2016! #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/TjqFeMn4MY — ICC (@ICC) December 22, 2016 × Kohli recently led India to a 4-0 series win over England in a five-Test home series. He was the man of the series by scoring 655 runs in the five Tests, at a whopping average of 109.16 with the highest score of 235. He scored 1215 runs in 2016 in 12 Test at an average of 75.93, with four centuries and two half-centuries. The only Indian in the line-up of the Test team is the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, with two of Kohli’s closest competitors, Kane Williamson of New Zealand and Joe Root of England make it to the team. However, Kohli makes it into the ODI team of the year, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma. Presenting the ICC ODI Team of the Year 2016! #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/5rH3XozNIj — ICC (@ICC) December 22, 2016 × Warner and Starc are two cricketers who found a place in both the teams. The Test team is selected on the basis of records between September 14, 2015, and September 20, 2016. Williamson had a great 2015, coming up with an average of 90.15 from 16 innings. While Kohli averages 42.66 off 15 innings in 2015, reports NDTV Sports. ICC ODI team of the year 2016: Virat Kohli (captain), David Warner, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler, Mitchell Marsh, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Starc, Kagiso Rabada, Sunil Narine, Imran Tahir. ICC Test team of the year 2016: Alastair Cook (captain), David Warner, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Adam Voges, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rangana Herath, Mitchell Starc, Dale Steyn, Steve Smith. (WION)

No place for Virat Kohli in the ICC Test team of the year 2016

Indian captain Virat Kohli climbed to the second spot in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen on Tuesday. The middle-order batsman has been prolific in the on-going Test series against England, amassing 640 runs in the first four Tests.

Kohli will now have his eyes set on his Australian counterpart Steve Smith, the leader of the rankings for batsman. Both the captains are part of the &#39;Fab Four&#39; club of batsman in world cricket.

The 28-year-old Kohli, who hit 235 in India&#39;s only innings in Mumbai in the fourth Test, his highest score in the longest format, has earned him 53 points (for an aggregate of 886 rating points) which has lifted him by one position to a career-best second rank.

He is now is in line to top the rankings in all three forms of the game at some point in time. Kohli, who is currently ranked second in ODI Player Rankings among batsmen and first in Twenty20 Internationals, is just 11 points behind Australia captain Steve Smith, who will get a chance to maintain his top ranking in an upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan.

Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other hand, continued at his top spot in ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after his match haul of 12/167 in the fourth Test against England in Mumbai that helped the home side score an innings and 36 runs victory for a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series.Ashwin, who had touched the coveted 900-point mark for the first time in October when he had reclaimed the top ranking, has reached 904 points to run up a 37-point lead over second-placed Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka.

Ashwin&#39;s rating is the second best-ever by an off-spinner after Muttiah Muralidaran (920), fifth best among spinners after Tony Lock (912), Derek Underwood (907) and Shane Warne (905), and the 18th in the overall list. Ashwin, who grabbed six wickets each in the two innings in Mumbai, had finished the 2015 year-end rankings as the number-one bowler and was also at the top briefly in July this year. He is also the top-ranked all-rounder at 483 points and enjoys a healthy lead over Bangladesh&#39;s Shakib Al Hasan, who is on 405 points with England&#39;s Ben Stokes third with 341 points.

Ashwin&#39;s spin partner Ravindra Jadeja has bridged the gap with Stokes to just one point in the all-rounders&#39; list after taking six wickets in Mumbai. Jadeja&#39;s continued success has also helped him reach a career-best ranking of sixth among bowlers. Other India players to make upward movements among batsmen are opener Murali Vijay and all-rounder Jayant Yadav. Vijay has moved up five places to 24th position after his knock of 136 while Yadav&#39;s 104 runs at number nine position, has pushed him up 31 slots to 56th rank.

In the ICC Test Team Rankings, India continued to lead the chart with 115 points, followed by England (105), Australia (105), Pakistan (102), South Africa (102), New Zealand (96), Sri Lanka (96), West Indies (69), Bangladesh (65) and Zimbabwe (5). Australia and Pakistan will go head to head in a three-Test series starting in Brisbane on Thursday, with both the sides aiming for an upward movement. However, this position will potentially change when the ICC Test Team Rankings are updated following the Chennai Test between India and England. If second-ranked England wins the Test, then it will finish on 103 points, but it will end on 101 points if India wins the series 4-0.

(PTI)

The 28-year-old Kohli has earned 53 points which has lifted him by one position to a career-best second rank

Indian captain Virat Kohli climbed to the second spot in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen on Tuesday. The middle-order batsman has been prolific in the on-going Test series against England, amassing 640 runs in the first four Tests. Kohli will now have his eyes set on his Australian counterpart Steve Smith, the leader of the rankings for batsman. Both the captains are part of the 'Fab Four' club of batsman in world cricket. The 28-year-old Kohli, who hit 235 in India's only innings in Mumbai in the fourth Test, his highest score in the longest format, has earned him 53 points (for an aggregate of 886 rating points) which has lifted him by one position to a career-best second rank. He is now is in line to top the rankings in all three forms of the game at some point in time. Kohli, who is currently ranked second in ODI Player Rankings among batsmen and first in Twenty20 Internationals, is just 11 points behind Australia captain Steve Smith, who will get a chance to maintain his top ranking in an upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan. Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other hand, continued at his top spot in ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after his match haul of 12/167 in the fourth Test against England in Mumbai that helped the home side score an innings and 36 runs victory for a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series.Ashwin, who had touched the coveted 900-point mark for the first time in October when he had reclaimed the top ranking, has reached 904 points to run up a 37-point lead over second-placed Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka. Ashwin's rating is the second best-ever by an off-spinner after Muttiah Muralidaran (920), fifth best among spinners after Tony Lock (912), Derek Underwood (907) and Shane Warne (905), and the 18th in the overall list. Ashwin, who grabbed six wickets each in the two innings in Mumbai, had finished the 2015 year-end rankings as the number-one bowler and was also at the top briefly in July this year. He is also the top-ranked all-rounder at 483 points and enjoys a healthy lead over Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, who is on 405 points with England's Ben Stokes third with 341 points. Ashwin's spin partner Ravindra Jadeja has bridged the gap with Stokes to just one point in the all-rounders' list after taking six wickets in Mumbai. Jadeja's continued success has also helped him reach a career-best ranking of sixth among bowlers. Other India players to make upward movements among batsmen are opener Murali Vijay and all-rounder Jayant Yadav. Vijay has moved up five places to 24th position after his knock of 136 while Yadav's 104 runs at number nine position, has pushed him up 31 slots to 56th rank. In the ICC Test Team Rankings, India continued to lead the chart with 115 points, followed by England (105), Australia (105), Pakistan (102), South Africa (102), New Zealand (96), Sri Lanka (96), West Indies (69), Bangladesh (65) and Zimbabwe (5). Australia and Pakistan will go head to head in a three-Test series starting in Brisbane on Thursday, with both the sides aiming for an upward movement. However, this position will potentially change when the ICC Test Team Rankings are updated following the Chennai Test between India and England. If second-ranked England wins the Test, then it will finish on 103 points, but it will end on 101 points if India wins the series 4-0. (PTI)

Cricket: Kohli climbs to 2nd spot in ICC Test Rankings for batsmen

Star batsman Virat Kohli smashed a massive double century before England slumped to 182-6 at stumps on day four as India closed in on victory in the fourth Test Sunday.

Captain Kohli struck 235 runs for his third double ton of the year and Jayant Yadav scored a maiden Test century to fire India to a huge first innings score of 631.

England, trailing by 231 runs, and already facing a mountain to climb to win the Test and salvage the series, then endured a nightmare start to their second innings in Mumbai.

The visitors lost a trio of quick wickets in just 13.2 overs to sit at 49-3 at tea as they started to stare defeat in the face at the Wankhede Stadium.

Keaton Jennings, who scored a century on his Test debut in the first innings, went for a golden duck, out lbw off Indian medium pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Captain Alastair Cook walked next, out lbw to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for just 18 runs.

Moeen Ali then lasted only three balls without score as Jadeja grabbed a second quick wicket thanks to the safe hands of Murali Vijay.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow did their best to make a contest of it by putting on a fourth wicket partnership of 92 before the former was bowled lbw by Yadav for 77 runs.

Ben Stokes came and went for 18 while Bairstow was unbeaten on 50 at stumps.

India&#39;s talismanic Kohli had earlier blasted a double century that included 25 fours and one six during his 340-ball stay.

It marked his third double century of 2016 in what has been a sensational and record-breaking year for the Indian skipper.

The 28-year-old put on a massive 241-run partnership with Yadav as England failed to take any wickets during the morning session.

Kohli removed his helmet and raised his bat to the adoring crowd as he brought up his double ton with a single off his 302nd ball of the match.&nbsp;

The right-hander has been the standout batsman of the year, scoring a double century against the West Indies in July before repeating the feat against New Zealand in October.

He was eventually caught out by James Anderson from Chris Woakes.

England, who scored 400 in their first innings, must win to keep the series alive going into the fifth Test in Chennai, a feat that now looks all but impossible.

(PTI)

Captain Kohli struck 235 runs for his third double ton of the year, as India closed in on victory in the fourth Test Sunday

Star batsman Virat Kohli smashed a massive double century before England slumped to 182-6 at stumps on day four as India closed in on victory in the fourth Test Sunday. Captain Kohli struck 235 runs for his third double ton of the year and Jayant Yadav scored a maiden Test century to fire India to a huge first innings score of 631. England, trailing by 231 runs, and already facing a mountain to climb to win the Test and salvage the series, then endured a nightmare start to their second innings in Mumbai. The visitors lost a trio of quick wickets in just 13.2 overs to sit at 49-3 at tea as they started to stare defeat in the face at the Wankhede Stadium. Keaton Jennings, who scored a century on his Test debut in the first innings, went for a golden duck, out lbw off Indian medium pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Captain Alastair Cook walked next, out lbw to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for just 18 runs. Moeen Ali then lasted only three balls without score as Jadeja grabbed a second quick wicket thanks to the safe hands of Murali Vijay. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow did their best to make a contest of it by putting on a fourth wicket partnership of 92 before the former was bowled lbw by Yadav for 77 runs. Ben Stokes came and went for 18 while Bairstow was unbeaten on 50 at stumps. India's talismanic Kohli had earlier blasted a double century that included 25 fours and one six during his 340-ball stay. It marked his third double century of 2016 in what has been a sensational and record-breaking year for the Indian skipper. The 28-year-old put on a massive 241-run partnership with Yadav as England failed to take any wickets during the morning session. Kohli removed his helmet and raised his bat to the adoring crowd as he brought up his double ton with a single off his 302nd ball of the match. The right-hander has been the standout batsman of the year, scoring a double century against the West Indies in July before repeating the feat against New Zealand in October. He was eventually caught out by James Anderson from Chris Woakes. England, who scored 400 in their first innings, must win to keep the series alive going into the fifth Test in Chennai, a feat that now looks all but impossible. (PTI)

Kohli hits double century as England slumps

India captain Virat Kohli maintained his red-hot form as he and Murali Vijay struck fine centuries to help the hosts overtake England on day three of the fourth test at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts, leading 2-0 in the five-match series, reached 451 for seven at the close, 51 runs ahead of the touring side.

Captain Kohli was unbeaten on 147 at stumps with Jayant Yadav on 30 not out.

The 28-year-old Kohli brought up his 15th test hundred and second of the series and celebrated with a leap in the air, bringing the 22,000 crowd at the stadium overlooking the Arabian Sea to their feet.

Kohli batted majestically, rarely looked in trouble, and hit 17 fours with sublime stroke-making.

He shared crucial stands with the lower-order batsmen, 57 with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh wicket and an unbroken 87 with Yadav.

Vijay and Kohli, who also passed 1,000 test runs in 2016 and 4,000 in his career, added 116 for the third wicket before the former was out for 136, hitting a full toss from Adil Rashid straight back to the leg-spinner.

England successfully reviewed the umpire&#39;s not out decision to dismiss Karun Nair lbw for 13 off Moeen Ali before part-time off-spinner Joe Root picked up the wickets of Parthiv Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin in four balls.

India, who were comfortably placed on 262-2, were reduced to 307-6 before Kohli and Jadeja propped them up. Jadeja was out to Rashid for 25.

The hosts could have been in more trouble if Rashid had held on to a return catch from Kohli, then on 68. Root also dropped Yadav on eight off James Anderson, compounding England&#39;s problems.

Yadav was reprieved again on 28 when replays showed he had edged Moeen to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow down the leg side but England did not have any reviews left to challenge the umpire&#39;s not out decision.

Resuming on 146 for one, the hosts suffered an early jolt when Cheteshwar Pujara (47) was bowled by the second ball of the morning shouldering arms to paceman Jake Ball.

However, it proved to be the only success for the English bowlers in the morning as Vijay and Kohli flayed the attack.

Vijay reached his second century of the series with a single against off-spinner Moeen and hit 10 fours and three sixes in his knock.

He was given out lbw to Rashid on 116 but managed to overturn the decision on review as replays suggested he got an inside edge before the ball struck his pad.

(Reuters)

The hosts, leading 2-0 in the five-match series, reached 451 for seven at the close, 51 runs ahead of the touring side

India captain Virat Kohli maintained his red-hot form as he and Murali Vijay struck fine centuries to help the hosts overtake England on day three of the fourth test at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. The hosts, leading 2-0 in the five-match series, reached 451 for seven at the close, 51 runs ahead of the touring side. Captain Kohli was unbeaten on 147 at stumps with Jayant Yadav on 30 not out. The 28-year-old Kohli brought up his 15th test hundred and second of the series and celebrated with a leap in the air, bringing the 22,000 crowd at the stadium overlooking the Arabian Sea to their feet. Kohli batted majestically, rarely looked in trouble, and hit 17 fours with sublime stroke-making. He shared crucial stands with the lower-order batsmen, 57 with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh wicket and an unbroken 87 with Yadav. Vijay and Kohli, who also passed 1,000 test runs in 2016 and 4,000 in his career, added 116 for the third wicket before the former was out for 136, hitting a full toss from Adil Rashid straight back to the leg-spinner. England successfully reviewed the umpire's not out decision to dismiss Karun Nair lbw for 13 off Moeen Ali before part-time off-spinner Joe Root picked up the wickets of Parthiv Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin in four balls. India, who were comfortably placed on 262-2, were reduced to 307-6 before Kohli and Jadeja propped them up. Jadeja was out to Rashid for 25. The hosts could have been in more trouble if Rashid had held on to a return catch from Kohli, then on 68. Root also dropped Yadav on eight off James Anderson, compounding England's problems. Yadav was reprieved again on 28 when replays showed he had edged Moeen to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow down the leg side but England did not have any reviews left to challenge the umpire's not out decision. Resuming on 146 for one, the hosts suffered an early jolt when Cheteshwar Pujara (47) was bowled by the second ball of the morning shouldering arms to paceman Jake Ball. However, it proved to be the only success for the English bowlers in the morning as Vijay and Kohli flayed the attack. Vijay reached his second century of the series with a single against off-spinner Moeen and hit 10 fours and three sixes in his knock. He was given out lbw to Rashid on 116 but managed to overturn the decision on review as replays suggested he got an inside edge before the ball struck his pad. (Reuters)

India-England Test, Day 3: Sublime Kohli, Vijay put India ahead

Newly-weds Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech arrived in Goa today for their Hindu-style nuptials which will be held&nbsp;at a sea-facing resort on December 3.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Hazel, a British-origin actress who has acted in Bollywood films, was christened Gurbasant Kaur during her wedding ceremony in Chandigarh. The actress was reportedly addressed by the name by the priest performing the rituals, which were performed as per Sikh traditions at the dera of a spiritual leader, Baba Ram Singh, about 40 kilometres from Punjab capital Chandigarh. Baba Ram Singh reportedly suggested the actress change her name.

While the Chandigarh wedding was a relatively solemn affair, attended only by the cricketer&#39;s close friends and family, the Goa nuptials are expected to be a fun-filled extravaganza.

A host of celebrities from the world of cricket and Bollywood are also expected to be a part of the festivities in Goa. Among those in attendance will be Yuvraj&#39;s close friend, Team India vice-captain Virat Kohli and his actress-girlfriend Anushka Sharma, the grapevine suggests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan are the A-listers expected to lead the celeb roll call at the reception in Delhi on December 7.

More details are awaited.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

While the Chandigarh wedding was a relatively solemn affair, the nuptials in Goa are expected to be a fun-filled extravaganza

Newly-weds Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech arrived in Goa today for their Hindu-style nuptials which will be held at a sea-facing resort on December 3. Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Hazel, a British-origin actress who has acted in Bollywood films, was christened Gurbasant Kaur during her wedding ceremony in Chandigarh. The actress was reportedly addressed by the name by the priest performing the rituals, which were performed as per Sikh traditions at the dera of a spiritual leader, Baba Ram Singh, about 40 kilometres from Punjab capital Chandigarh. Baba Ram Singh reportedly suggested the actress change her name. While the Chandigarh wedding was a relatively solemn affair, attended only by the cricketer's close friends and family, the Goa nuptials are expected to be a fun-filled extravaganza. A host of celebrities from the world of cricket and Bollywood are also expected to be a part of the festivities in Goa. Among those in attendance will be Yuvraj's close friend, Team India vice-captain Virat Kohli and his actress-girlfriend Anushka Sharma, the grapevine suggests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan are the A-listers expected to lead the celeb roll call at the reception in Delhi on December 7. More details are awaited. (WION)

Virat, Anushka to attend Yuvraj Singh's Hindu wedding in Goa, wife Hazel adopts Sikh name

Jonny Bairstow said England had a &quot;scrappy&quot; opening day after his half-century remained the only bright spot for the visitors who faltered against a persistent Indian bowling attack in Mohali on Saturday.

Bairstow hit a gritty 89 to salvage some pride for England&#39;s batting after they were reduced to 87 for four in the morning session following their decision to bat first.

Indian bowlers put up a combined effort as Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja claimed two wickets each.

The visitors, who trail the five-match series 1-0, were 268 for eight at stumps with Adil Rashid (4) and Gareth Batty (0) battling on. &quot;It&#39;s been a scrappy day but we&#39;ve dealt with worse in the past and we will carry on to work hard within the game,&quot; Bairstow told reporters.

&quot;After winning the toss, it was disappointing to lose wickets, at the same time it could have been a disastrous day as well. &quot;We&#39;ve also got to take positives from that.&quot;

Bairstow, who recorded his 13th Test fifty, built crucial 50-plus partnerships with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler (43) to thwart the opposition&#39;s bowling.

Bairstow remained calm during his 177-ball stay at the crease before being trapped lbw off Jayant Yadav in the last half hour of play.

The batsman, who survived a seemingly close umpire review on an lbw shout off Jadeja on 72, could not overturn his own referral as the on-field umpires call was upheld. Jadeja halted England&#39;s revival twice in the innings only to see Bairstow steady the ship with his composed batting.

Jadeja got Ben Stokes stumped for 29 in the afternoon session and then denied Buttler, who batted with positive intent during his 80-ball stay, his fifty. While trudging back to the pavilion Stokes had an angry exchange of words with India skipper Virat Kohli, with the on-field umpire jumping in to pacify the two players.

&quot;I don&#39;t know what was said, I don&#39;t get involved with all that stuff,&quot; said Bairstow. &quot;You got to respect the fact that you have got guys out there who are very passionate, representing the country in the heat of the battle and at some point there are going to be words.&quot;

Bairstow and Buttler put on 69 runs for the sixth wicket to give England a shot of getting past the 300-run mark, a total which might prove fighting on a pitch that is expected to turn from day two. Chris Woakes&#39; resilience ended in the penultimate over of the day as Umesh Yadav bowled him on 25.

Morning blitz&nbsp;

Earlier the Indian bowlers rattled England&#39;s top order by claiming four wickets in the morning session including that of skipper Alastair Cook. The Indian quicks bowled at a lively pace after the visitors elected to bat as Umesh Yadav struck first to get teenage opener Haseeb Hameed out for nine.

Cook failed to capitalise on two dropped chances on three and 23 to eventually fall to Ravichandran Ashwin, who had dropped him the second time, for 27. &quot;In cricket, it happens. Teammates will take brilliant catches and drop some easy ones. It&#39;s part and parcel of the game,&quot; said Umesh Yadav.

Ali and Bairstow put on 36 runs for the fourth wicket but Shami struck just before lunch to help India dominate the first session of play. Shami, who was at the receiving end of Cook&#39;s two spilt catches, got Ali to mistime a hook as the batsman was caught at fine leg for 16.

(AFP)

England, who trail the five-match series 1-0, were 268 for eight at stumps

Jonny Bairstow said England had a "scrappy" opening day after his half-century remained the only bright spot for the visitors who faltered against a persistent Indian bowling attack in Mohali on Saturday. Bairstow hit a gritty 89 to salvage some pride for England's batting after they were reduced to 87 for four in the morning session following their decision to bat first. Indian bowlers put up a combined effort as Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja claimed two wickets each. The visitors, who trail the five-match series 1-0, were 268 for eight at stumps with Adil Rashid (4) and Gareth Batty (0) battling on. "It's been a scrappy day but we've dealt with worse in the past and we will carry on to work hard within the game," Bairstow told reporters. "After winning the toss, it was disappointing to lose wickets, at the same time it could have been a disastrous day as well. "We've also got to take positives from that." Bairstow, who recorded his 13th Test fifty, built crucial 50-plus partnerships with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler (43) to thwart the opposition's bowling. Bairstow remained calm during his 177-ball stay at the crease before being trapped lbw off Jayant Yadav in the last half hour of play. The batsman, who survived a seemingly close umpire review on an lbw shout off Jadeja on 72, could not overturn his own referral as the on-field umpires call was upheld. Jadeja halted England's revival twice in the innings only to see Bairstow steady the ship with his composed batting. Jadeja got Ben Stokes stumped for 29 in the afternoon session and then denied Buttler, who batted with positive intent during his 80-ball stay, his fifty. While trudging back to the pavilion Stokes had an angry exchange of words with India skipper Virat Kohli, with the on-field umpire jumping in to pacify the two players. "I don't know what was said, I don't get involved with all that stuff," said Bairstow. "You got to respect the fact that you have got guys out there who are very passionate, representing the country in the heat of the battle and at some point there are going to be words." Bairstow and Buttler put on 69 runs for the sixth wicket to give England a shot of getting past the 300-run mark, a total which might prove fighting on a pitch that is expected to turn from day two. Chris Woakes' resilience ended in the penultimate over of the day as Umesh Yadav bowled him on 25. Morning blitz Earlier the Indian bowlers rattled England's top order by claiming four wickets in the morning session including that of skipper Alastair Cook. The Indian quicks bowled at a lively pace after the visitors elected to bat as Umesh Yadav struck first to get teenage opener Haseeb Hameed out for nine. Cook failed to capitalise on two dropped chances on three and 23 to eventually fall to Ravichandran Ashwin, who had dropped him the second time, for 27. "In cricket, it happens. Teammates will take brilliant catches and drop some easy ones. It's part and parcel of the game," said Umesh Yadav. Ali and Bairstow put on 36 runs for the fourth wicket but Shami struck just before lunch to help India dominate the first session of play. Shami, who was at the receiving end of Cook's two spilt catches, got Ali to mistime a hook as the batsman was caught at fine leg for 16. (AFP)

Cricket: Bairstow hits 89 but England falter in 2nd Test vs India

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